#57) Political Parties Showcase

Hello, and welcome back to "Always Be Better" with Mel Windham. Today we will return to the Political Track, and I'd like to explore the different political parties that exist in the United States.

First off, why do we have political parties in the first place? This is a question that will come up several times in this and other videos in the near future. I think that in a democratic society, such parties might be inevitable. People who seem to share the same political views will tend to find each other and join forces, ... and a party is born. In autocratic societies, there tend to be zero or one state party in which everyone must be a member.

In the United States, we currently have two major parties and scores of other smaller parties. Many experts think that our system of voting, as dictated by the US Constitution, almost guarantees a two-party system. Because of a theory called Duverger's Law, the math strongly pushes us to two parties. And I'm sure you've felt this mathematical pressure when choosing someone for president. In 2024, people were tired of another Trump/Biden match up, but yet, the vast majority of them chose NOT to go with a third party, because we all know that would basically be throwing our votes away. See? That's Duverger's Law.

The other small parties exist, but they would be very lucky to have a member win the presidency in any of our lifetimes.

Okay ... let's start with the Democrats. As you may remember from my Political History video, that was the Party I was born into. Democrats are the liberals. They see change as healthy. We can always improve our lives.

Government is a way to help society grow. It should help provide a base level of sustenance and support. Taxes tend to be higher, but that money is put to good use. There would be fewer people on the streets, everyone can afford food and healthcare, everyone is accepted as they are, and those who are at a disadvantage can get a boost to help keep them up to speed.

Democrats tend to hold to Keynesian economic principles. This is the idea that the government, supported by the trust and high value of its aggregate money, can help to stimulate our economy by spending extra money when times are tough. Then with the extra boost, more jobs are created, which results in more taxes being collected, and eventually, the government gets its money back.

In this economy, corporations are seen as entities that naturally take advantage of the consumers. They'll take any opportunity to make a profit, and so, our government needs to step in and regulate them -- stop monopolistic practices and protect consumers.

Now let's move to the Republicans. Remember -- I tried them for about 16 years. Also known as the GOP (Grand Old Party). These are the conservatives. Tradition is very important. If something has worked for centuries, then let's keep doing that. 

Government may be good at some tasks, but most of the time, it just gets in the way and introduces too many inefficiencies. Taxes are smaller, because the people and corporations know best how to spend their own money and in the aggregate. Everyone has a fair shot at success, but they're on their own. The government shouldn't be in the business of lifting people up artificially at the expense of others who deserve their own fruits of working hard.

Republicans tend to hold to traditional old Chicago-school economics. Supply and demand. Opportunity costs, deadweight loss, specialization, free trade, etc. Regulations only slow things down and introduce inefficiencies. If we let businesses do their jobs naturally, economic pressures will create the most wins for everyone. More jobs are created, and more taxes collected, etc.

In this economy, corporations are the backbone. As they serve shareholders, they are at the same time serving customers. Regulations only increase costs that get passed directly to the consumers. Smaller government gives us the best outcome for everyone. Because after all, how can the government know better how to run a company than a business that specializes in that product and knows its customers?

Together, the Republican and Democrats make up the two biggest parties that have dominated American politics for over a century ... ever since Lincoln. One party is "left" or liberal, and the other party is "right" or conservative. And we see this in many other democratic countries that have mostly a two-party system. One party is always "left," and the other is always "right." We'll explore this angle in later videos.

But for today, let's wrap things up by looking at a couple of the third parties -- the biggest of the little ones.

The Libertarian Party was one that has caught my attention in the past. I even voted Libertarian in 2016. They are the ultimate "small government" party. Basically: whatever it is, Don't Tread on Me, and let me enjoy my freedom to its fullest degree. Imagine Walt Whitman in his woody hut trying to convince us why he doesn't have to pay taxes. Libertarians also like to claim Ayn Rand -- fiscally conservative, but socially liberal.

I laughed in 2020 as I read Jo Jorgensen's presidential platform. What would she do about Covid? Nothing. What about healthcare? Nothing. Social Security? Get rid of it. Abortion? Do nothing. Immigration issues? Do nothing.

That's when I realized: with the Libertarians, why have a president at all? But then again, out of all the small parties, Libertarian is by far the most popular. They think that if one of the two major parties fail, they would be in the best position to take over a la Lincoln when the Republicans had their first win. I guess we'll see.

Another popular one seems to be the Green Party, which of course is most concerned about environmental issues.

And then we start getting into the more obscure ones such as "No Labels", the Communist Party, the Constitution Party, and even a Marijuana Party. I don't know much about these parties other than that they exist.

But there's one newish organization that's caught my attention: the Forward Party headed by Andrew Yang and others. Their main platform is to basically not have a main platform. Rather, they'd prefer to serve as a conduit to bring together opposing views, have discussions, and work things out together. If you've been watching my videos, you may guess why I find this attractive. These guys also like to promote Ranked Choice Voting and/or other proportional voting schemes that could help third parties have more of a chance in elections. It sounds like great ideas, but I haven't quite figured out how it would all work -- like something's missing. I could probably have a whole video on these guys, but we'll see ...

In other videos later this year, we'll talk more about parties. But for now, I hope you've enjoyed this showcase. Please make sure to Like and Subscribe. Tell all your friends. And come back for more ... here on "Always Be Better."