Friday, May 26, 2006
Less Platform, More Manifesto!
I figured there must be a 'Capitalist Party' somewhere, and sure enough there are several. Some are obviously one guy at a computer. There's something fascinating about one-man political parties. I looked around a bit at various CPs (gotta love the initials - in your face, Joe Stalin!)
This one: http://www.capitalistparty.org.uk/ got my attention.
(Yes, I know it's the UK, the title of this post was fanciful; I'm not thinking of moving to the UK just to join the CP.)
It seems to be the child of Henry Afton, who I would bet is a big fan of Ayn Rand (not-that-there's-anything-wrong with-that, of course). Oh, yes, there it is in the 'acknowledgement'. Funny how you can tell from only about 100-400 words whether somone was heavily influenced by Rand. I guess a person who wears a Carl Menger t-shirt really doesn't have much call to mock others, though :)
Observations:
(1) Forget a puling platform; you can't go wrong with a Manifesto!
(2) Is that light bulb thing a lame logo or what? Get a gold brick or something! Afton's forte seems to be words rather than graphics; I can certainly empathise with that. I guess I should be glad it's not a cigarette :)
(3) Speaking of the Manifesto: check out the Education 'plank':
Now that is refreshing simplicity indeed! What more really needs to be said on the subject? (He does, though, link to an essay he wrote on the subject for those looking for more substance).
(4) He (let's drop the illusion of 'they' created by the idea/fact that the CP is a political party) thinks NAFTA is a Good Deal for the UK. Interesting, since most serious US capitalists think NAFTA is the satanic offspring of the UN and the Trilateral Commission. Or maybe I've just been hanging out with too many Birchers.
(5) One benefit of parliamentary systems is that they seem to encourage these small parties.
End cute commentary on Afton's CP - begin rant on American parties:
We have the same sort of thing here in the US, but most parties don't have the hope of ever seating anyone in the legislature. This, alas, leads to either a sort of hopelessness on the part of many members of small parties or (worse, perhaps) the misguided notion that if only they act just like the big boys, they will become a 'major party' themselves. Here's the thing, though: it isn't going to happen. Elections are basically just opinion polls in our system, and the role of the smaller ideological parties is to give people a way to state their opinion more clearly. If you vote for Republicans or Democrats, you're voting for the status quo - you're saying "I am not (too) displeased with the way things are being handled." If you vote Libertarian or Green or Capitalist Party, you're saying "Hey, you jerks, you are waaay off-base. And at least some people are noticing." Once enough people notice, then the D/R folks need to take heed and try to woo some of us 'radicals' back to the middle (and good-luck-with-that, in my case, but, hey, I guess it'll work for some people). Ideological parties like the Libertarians and the Greens in the US are what keeps the two power parties from forming one disgusting centrist blob. It is the exclusion (deliberate, natrually) of these ideological parties from the debates and elections wich allows the blob to grow. We need to make that case. We need to have small parties on the ballot for their own sake, not because they are 'this close' to being a 'major party'. Because they aren't. The Green Party isn't, the Libertarian Party isn't, the Constitution Party isn't. America has a two-party system which is rapidly degenerating into a one-party system.
I'm not saying that the Libertarian Party should not run candidates - and win elections! Of course it ought to do that. My point is that in the larger picture our influence will be felt way beyond the number of offices Libertarians happen to occupy, and we should not shortchange that influence by obsessing about winning especially if 'winning' really means 'Say and do whatever it takes to get elected.' Let's have fewer "Plans for America" and more "Manifestos of Freedom". Let's court the hearts-and-minds of freedom lovers and be there for them when they are finally ready to send a message to those in power in the big four-year national opinion poll called the general election. ¶ 11:34 AM
This one: http://www.capitalistparty.org.uk/ got my attention.
(Yes, I know it's the UK, the title of this post was fanciful; I'm not thinking of moving to the UK just to join the CP.)
It seems to be the child of Henry Afton, who I would bet is a big fan of Ayn Rand (not-that-there's-anything-wrong with-that, of course). Oh, yes, there it is in the 'acknowledgement'. Funny how you can tell from only about 100-400 words whether somone was heavily influenced by Rand. I guess a person who wears a Carl Menger t-shirt really doesn't have much call to mock others, though :)
Observations:
(1) Forget a puling platform; you can't go wrong with a Manifesto!
(2) Is that light bulb thing a lame logo or what? Get a gold brick or something! Afton's forte seems to be words rather than graphics; I can certainly empathise with that. I guess I should be glad it's not a cigarette :)
(3) Speaking of the Manifesto: check out the Education 'plank':
Privatise Education
It is cultural suicide to allow the state to control our children's minds.
Now that is refreshing simplicity indeed! What more really needs to be said on the subject? (He does, though, link to an essay he wrote on the subject for those looking for more substance).
(4) He (let's drop the illusion of 'they' created by the idea/fact that the CP is a political party) thinks NAFTA is a Good Deal for the UK. Interesting, since most serious US capitalists think NAFTA is the satanic offspring of the UN and the Trilateral Commission. Or maybe I've just been hanging out with too many Birchers.
(5) One benefit of parliamentary systems is that they seem to encourage these small parties.
End cute commentary on Afton's CP - begin rant on American parties:
We have the same sort of thing here in the US, but most parties don't have the hope of ever seating anyone in the legislature. This, alas, leads to either a sort of hopelessness on the part of many members of small parties or (worse, perhaps) the misguided notion that if only they act just like the big boys, they will become a 'major party' themselves. Here's the thing, though: it isn't going to happen. Elections are basically just opinion polls in our system, and the role of the smaller ideological parties is to give people a way to state their opinion more clearly. If you vote for Republicans or Democrats, you're voting for the status quo - you're saying "I am not (too) displeased with the way things are being handled." If you vote Libertarian or Green or Capitalist Party, you're saying "Hey, you jerks, you are waaay off-base. And at least some people are noticing." Once enough people notice, then the D/R folks need to take heed and try to woo some of us 'radicals' back to the middle (and good-luck-with-that, in my case, but, hey, I guess it'll work for some people). Ideological parties like the Libertarians and the Greens in the US are what keeps the two power parties from forming one disgusting centrist blob. It is the exclusion (deliberate, natrually) of these ideological parties from the debates and elections wich allows the blob to grow. We need to make that case. We need to have small parties on the ballot for their own sake, not because they are 'this close' to being a 'major party'. Because they aren't. The Green Party isn't, the Libertarian Party isn't, the Constitution Party isn't. America has a two-party system which is rapidly degenerating into a one-party system.
I'm not saying that the Libertarian Party should not run candidates - and win elections! Of course it ought to do that. My point is that in the larger picture our influence will be felt way beyond the number of offices Libertarians happen to occupy, and we should not shortchange that influence by obsessing about winning especially if 'winning' really means 'Say and do whatever it takes to get elected.' Let's have fewer "Plans for America" and more "Manifestos of Freedom". Let's court the hearts-and-minds of freedom lovers and be there for them when they are finally ready to send a message to those in power in the big four-year national opinion poll called the general election. ¶ 11:34 AM
