Thats why we have primaries Joe!
The only way youre going to get more than 2 parties in this country is if you totally revamp the political institutional structure of the United States. Which is NEVER going to happen without a vote from Congress, which is unlikely to occur given that change is so very very costly and difficult.
Check out Paul Pierson's Politics in Time for a good read about this, but he points out that decisions that are made early-on in the institution-building process often have lasting and unitended consequences for the societies they govern. These early decisions then become locked-in, meaning they are increasingly costly and difficult to change.
But I suppose it is possible, but definitely not without working the system from the inside out. Not to mention that it would be undemocratic to just impose a new system from the outside, even if it is a better -- namely Parliamentary, or any system based on proportional representation -- system that will allow multiple parties to compete.
Even countries with PR systems have to form coalitions in any event, so two large coalitions usually emerge even with more pluralistic voting regimes. There is something to be said about a society making its decisions based off a democratic system, wherein if more than 50% of a country want a given policy, and if that policy doesnt take away the rights of anyone else (majority or minority), then that policy should be enacted. Policies should meet the criteria of a democratically-approved pareto optimum, or not be enacted at all.
My $0.02.
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I think our system now is completely corrupt. I do agree that is is possible that we might need to work it from the inside out.
It is possible that the only way we are going to get real change is for someone to go in, through all of poly sci school pretending to be for the party that they are associated with. Work there way up the system, take all the money from the lobbyists and play the game. Somehow make it to the presidency and tell all the lobbyists to fuck off. and change the system...
But to not have people even understanding what the third parties stand for or even hear there ideas is just a crime. You yourself said that you don;t know what their messages are. And maybe that is because you think they don;t matter... but if you don;t hear other ideas it is hard not to think the ones you are hearing are the ones that matter.
it is the same as when you take a art history class and you learn about the sistine chapel... Your eyes go WOW!
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