Monday, November 07, 2016

Cooperation v Ideology

Partisan politics presumes the division is permanent. The stated goal is to represent everyone. The reality is a school debate where your side is picked in advance, and then you argue for it. Someone wins, and someone loses. Government is more boring than elections. Long after the soundbites fade, there is hard, complicated, nuanced policy to wade through. Partisan politics forces you to start with the answer, then find a path to it. It starts with interest groups. There is no smooth path when you realise you disagree with your team. Without a team, you can't get anything done. Team building takes time. A system that focused on co-operation independent of ideology would make changing views easier. The engine of the enlightenment was admitting ignorance. Politics needs the same.

Elections are the start of the process. Not the end.

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