Neither Major Party in the US Represents the Working Class
Neither Major Party in the US Represents the Working Class

Neither Major Party in the US Represents the Working Class - Truthdig

Neither Major Party in the US Represents the Working Class
Neither Major Party in the US Represents the Working Class - Truthdig
The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.
Karl Marx
So, no elections or no masters? Marx wasn't an anarchist
What Marx says that the government represents the ruling class, and under capitalism it's the capitalist minority.
We can’t vote for a human or the wrong lizard might win.
More useless "both sides the same" bullshit.
It's not bullshit. You USAians have distilled complex issues to "yes, no", " with us, or against us", "right, wrong", "racist, not racist", etc.
The first past the post system limits the voting options to just two, which limits the power and decision making to a few people who aren't allowed to diverge from their voter-base.
A centrist republican voter and a centrist democrat voter can't both vote for a centrist party. They both have to make a decision of "republican or democrat". A working class USAian can't vote for a working class party - no it has to be one of the two parties.
It's much easier for both parties to make it harder for working class people to vote and garner votes from the middle class upwards, than try to serve the working class. Or, they just indoctrinate the working class to vote against their own interests - what option do they have anyway? It's not like they could vote for a third, forth or fifth party that represents them.
Both parties do little for the working class because they know they don't have to do much. Feed them propaganda on social media, have political ads that DESTROY, OBLITERATE, SMASH the other side (or whatever sensationalist word is used), make promises, claim moral highground and quote Jebus a few times, and the working class will for them. And if they don't vote at all, that's even better!
Yeah yeah, democrats do more than republicans, but "represent" the working class is a stretch.
The USA needs a multi-party system, possibly with preferential voting. The only people with actual representative are the rich, in the USA.
They don't have to be the same to both be shit. They don't even have to be equally bad to both be shit. I'd rather lose a toe than an arm, that doesn't mean I'm excited to lose a toe.
But one works much harder than the other at supporting them.
No shit.
One party represents just what is good for them and theirs with no consideration for long term function and stability of the country. The other represents just what is good for them and theirs but realize they need the country to consider relatively stably for their own long term good.
Eh, I see it this way:
I don't see either as caring too much for longer term stability. Democrats want to raise/eliminate the debt limit (i.e. more social programs), and Republicans want to use the debt limit for political concessions (i.e. appeal to base with lip-service to fiscal responsibility), neither seems particularly worried about balancing the budget.
What makes you think the democracts have any interest in the "younger generation?" The average age of democrat leadership is OLDER then republicans. Voter turn out among the younger generation is also abysmal because the dem do not appeal to the younger generation at all.
democrats would allow taxes to be collected to not borrow much. Republicans would get rid of any taxes that are not straight out fee for service. Debt arises from not paying bills.
Vote for the candidate that will do the least harm to the most people
Agreed, that is why I vote for the PSL or green party candidate.
But one works much harder than the other at supporting them.
I don't think that's really true, they both essentially ignore the working class. The right caters to small business owners, the just caters to large business owners, and both generally ignore the workers.
The both like to say they're working hard for the workers, but they really don't follow up with effective policy.
Think about how we got here
Very early on we out sourced a big chunk of the election process to volunteers, fans, fanatics if you will. Why raise taxes to pay for elections?
Parties took over the preliminary parts of the process in exchange for vetting potential candidates.
OK so I'm guessing but, no one works for free
The Pay may not be cash, power, influence, patronage are all nice.
Money has always been speech
Excess resources have always been required to have a meaningful political opinion
The system was designed for information moving at the speed of horse at great expense
The system was to serve 1% of the present population
Damm thing works better than one would expect :D
Thank you, captain obvious.
Most countries don't have a 1 party system for this reason
I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. The US doesn't have a 1 party system. If you meant 2 party system, that's not really true of any specific arrangement of political party spectrums across the world. No system covers most countries. Wikipedia lists 15 countries, many among the most powerful and influential globally that are effectively 2 party systems.
There are so many reasons why the working class lack representation in America and I don't think a single one of those reasons is the 2 party system. In fact, on paper, the US has no limit on how many political parties there can be. The reason we have a 2 party system has more to do with our voting system and the spoiler effect that happens over time in all First-Past-The-Post voting systems.
I think the reason the working class lack representation has so much more to do with the money in our politics. The politicians are more concerned with continuing their political careers and earning more money for themselves than they are with helping the working and poor classes.
Its a one party system because the US Democratic and Republican parties have the same policies on everything that actually matters to people's quality of life. Both provide endless funding to the military. Neither will defund the police. Neither will tax carbon or stop pipelines from being built. Neither will provide single payer healthcare. Neither will invest in building sustainable transportation infrastructure (high speed rail, interstate public busses). Neither will tax carbon or animal consumption. Neither will make universities free and get rid of student loan debt. Neither will provide housing to homeless people. Neither will comply with international laws related to war crimes or refugees. Neither will establish data privacy laws or break up the big tech industry. Neither will shutdown the NSA and illegal government mass surveillance infrastructure.
In the US it's a one party system with an illusion of choice.