This is natural selection...

Posted Sep 14, 2010 7:34 UTC (Tue) by khim (subscriber, #9252)
In reply to: Citizen Linus by ofranja
Parent article: Citizen Linus

"The winner takes all" model naturally leads to duopoly. If you choose "A" or "B" you hope to change something next term - this is US politics. When you choose "C" you are showing your POV but have no real hope to change anything, so that's not politics, that's PR.

This is natural selection...

Posted Sep 14, 2010 8:51 UTC (Tue) by dgm (subscriber, #49227) [Link] (2 responses)

In other countries alliances are made when nobody has a majority. In those countries voting C or D makes much more sense.

This is natural selection...

Posted Sep 14, 2010 10:13 UTC (Tue) by klbrun (subscriber, #45083) [Link]

The last time someone in US government had made this suggestion on the record was Lani Guinere in the Clinton administration, and she was hounded out of office as a threat to democracy.

This is natural selection...

Posted Sep 14, 2010 14:52 UTC (Tue) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link]

That's not working so well up here in Canada. We have a minority government in theory, but the governing party is so good at keeping the opposition in disarray that it might as well have a majority. :(

This is natural selection...

Posted Sep 14, 2010 10:21 UTC (Tue) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] (1 responses)

That's what we thought in the UK until this most recent election. Coalition government, what a strange thing.

This is natural selection...

Posted Sep 14, 2010 19:43 UTC (Tue) by bgmarete (guest, #47484) [Link]

Here in Kenya, a first coalition probably saved the country from completely igniting after the disputed elections of 2007. The constitution had to be changed to allow it.