It’s truly more complicated than that. The USA electoral system is weird worldwide, but more than weird, it’s antiquated and by design, by tradition, very prone to be manipulated, and this goes from the caucus system to the elections themselves.
It’s set up for the people to feel they are actually choosing leaders, but the reality is the political representation is only achieved for an increasingly narrow economical and ideological subset of the people. The American political class is very conservative, and it always breaks my heart that many Democrats feel offended when people from other countries, like me, point this out.
European countries have a variety of electoral systems, and to my knowledge right wing parties are gaining significant vote share in all of them. Is there a country whose electoral system you see as best helping them deal with populist reactionary figures?
I am currently a proponent of ranked choice voting - Australia is the country I know of with the most widespread use example. They aren’t magically utopian, but it seems to be helping there. Always on the lookout to learn new things, though, so interested in pointers.
European countries have a mindset of colonialist countries that will try to reach for their roots. Unfortunately, that’s part of their political struggle. I actually like the way it is in my country, Mexico. You have one 6-year term only, you can’t have any re-elections, ever. It’s possible to ask for a referendum in the middle of the term, in case the person in chair is not doing as they promised. In the legislative power, we don’t have dinosaurs thanks to this, politicians can go from lower to higher level cameras in this bicameral legislative power, but that’s it. “No reelection” is ingrained with blood in our culture. Of course, electoral systems can only do so much against populist reactionaries, as you put it.
I like the idea of ranked choice voting a lot, but I don’t know how viable that is for the USA. They need change, urgently, and ranked choice voting would be as good as it gets in terms of change.
The people have done what they can. Politicians have failed to them. That’s why Trump was headed to last 4 years in power only, and then the Democrats handed him, on a silver plate, another presidential term by being essentially equal to their rivals. As I see it, the political class is the one failing, by showing the people there is not a real path for a leftist government once and again. Americans need brutal leftist politicians as they have brutal right-wing ones in spades. The people is eager to support a younger Sanders-like face, someone that won’t compromise the benefit of the majority’s views.
It’s truly more complicated than that. The USA electoral system is weird worldwide, but more than weird, it’s antiquated and by design, by tradition, very prone to be manipulated, and this goes from the caucus system to the elections themselves.
It’s set up for the people to feel they are actually choosing leaders, but the reality is the political representation is only achieved for an increasingly narrow economical and ideological subset of the people. The American political class is very conservative, and it always breaks my heart that many Democrats feel offended when people from other countries, like me, point this out.
European countries have a variety of electoral systems, and to my knowledge right wing parties are gaining significant vote share in all of them. Is there a country whose electoral system you see as best helping them deal with populist reactionary figures?
I am currently a proponent of ranked choice voting - Australia is the country I know of with the most widespread use example. They aren’t magically utopian, but it seems to be helping there. Always on the lookout to learn new things, though, so interested in pointers.
European countries have a mindset of colonialist countries that will try to reach for their roots. Unfortunately, that’s part of their political struggle. I actually like the way it is in my country, Mexico. You have one 6-year term only, you can’t have any re-elections, ever. It’s possible to ask for a referendum in the middle of the term, in case the person in chair is not doing as they promised. In the legislative power, we don’t have dinosaurs thanks to this, politicians can go from lower to higher level cameras in this bicameral legislative power, but that’s it. “No reelection” is ingrained with blood in our culture. Of course, electoral systems can only do so much against populist reactionaries, as you put it.
I like the idea of ranked choice voting a lot, but I don’t know how viable that is for the USA. They need change, urgently, and ranked choice voting would be as good as it gets in terms of change.
An people have done nothing to change it. That’s the point.
The people have done what they can. Politicians have failed to them. That’s why Trump was headed to last 4 years in power only, and then the Democrats handed him, on a silver plate, another presidential term by being essentially equal to their rivals. As I see it, the political class is the one failing, by showing the people there is not a real path for a leftist government once and again. Americans need brutal leftist politicians as they have brutal right-wing ones in spades. The people is eager to support a younger Sanders-like face, someone that won’t compromise the benefit of the majority’s views.