Our current book club selection was a recommendation from Steve Richardson, a founder of the Virginia Independent Voters Association. I asked Steve to share some of his thoughts about the book with us.
“Indispensable Enemies helped me see that parties have no more interest in competition than corporations. Both invest heavily in the illusion of choice to hide their true goal of absolute power. Duopoly – sharing with just one challenger – is the next best thing.
Karp’s theory turns the Median Voter Theorem upside down. In our system, electoral competition would force parties toward the middle on most issues. However, if all choices have been agreed upon by collusion between the parties, we have a “heads politicians win, tails voters lose” situation. We have seen steady erosion of the average citizen’s interests as the size and scope of government has grown to encompass more and more so-called special interests. Politicians argue that log-rolling is what makes our system work, but this is just rationalization of what Karp reveals is as systematic deception.
For Independents, this is yet another argument for structural reform – a reason why any bipartisan “solution” leaves foxes in the henhouse and perpetuates the looting. I don’t advocate accusing anyone of anything. In fact, as I believe Karp explained, collusive practice is so natural in this environment that most of the people contributing to it are not even aware of the implications of their actions. I do think we should dissect what is wrong with party politics as a matter of principle and use those arguments repeatedly to promote alternatives.
Our electoral system should not force voters to join any party because parties are factions (ideologically opposite positions) that concentrate power and divide the people. Especially in today’s complex world, we need a system that facilitates issue-based coalitions that form, reform, and dissolve as needed, with no institutional barriers that protect them as centers of power.”
Steve Richardson
