South Africa’s ruling African National Congress is on the brink of losing its majority for the first time after an election that has brought a drop in support for the party that led its country out of apartheid under Nelson Mandela.
While I agree that the ANC has deserved to lose an election for a while, one must be very careful here. Without any viable opposition party ( the DA is not considered a viable opposition party by the majority of South Africans, as seen by them failing to grow their voter base this election), the “big tent” ANC is splitting along racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious lines, in a reactionary manner. Jacob Zuma’s MK party is the most obvious example of this, their manifesto calls for scrapping the constitution.
Why should we hold South Africa to a different standard than other democracies? If we encourage voters to pull support in all major parties in “mature” democracies, why not encourage similar behavior in a democracy like South Africa? A parliamentary system is the best system in allowing a collection of minor parties to come together in creating a new majority government.
Yeah I’ve never really bought into the whole ‘but they’re the only stable choice’ argument as that’s the exact thinking that leads you to a two-party system. Multiparty rule is far better than majority rule in my opinion as it represents far more discrete circumstances simultaneously. Personally I’m in favour of scrapping parties altogether, but that’s a far deeper rabbit hole.
Personally I’m in favour of scrapping parties altogether, but that’s a far deeper rabbit hole.
The problem with political parties is that they end up being a better strategy in terms of game theory than not having parties. Even when actions are taken to get rid of political parties, they naturally form in the matter of coordinating political power across different people.
While I agree that the ANC has deserved to lose an election for a while, one must be very careful here. Without any viable opposition party ( the DA is not considered a viable opposition party by the majority of South Africans, as seen by them failing to grow their voter base this election), the “big tent” ANC is splitting along racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious lines, in a reactionary manner. Jacob Zuma’s MK party is the most obvious example of this, their manifesto calls for scrapping the constitution.
Why should we hold South Africa to a different standard than other democracies? If we encourage voters to pull support in all major parties in “mature” democracies, why not encourage similar behavior in a democracy like South Africa? A parliamentary system is the best system in allowing a collection of minor parties to come together in creating a new majority government.
Yeah I’ve never really bought into the whole ‘but they’re the only stable choice’ argument as that’s the exact thinking that leads you to a two-party system. Multiparty rule is far better than majority rule in my opinion as it represents far more discrete circumstances simultaneously. Personally I’m in favour of scrapping parties altogether, but that’s a far deeper rabbit hole.
The problem with political parties is that they end up being a better strategy in terms of game theory than not having parties. Even when actions are taken to get rid of political parties, they naturally form in the matter of coordinating political power across different people.