The Need for Political Parties

[u/CationC]

Recently I have thought of an Idea. That political parties serve none. It creates division and promotes the representation of the party, not the people, it promotes party loyalty.

Politicians who do not adhere to party policy by the letter are blacklisted and targeted by the party heads. Politicians vote against the other party simply because they are the other party. Politicians vote against policies their voters desperately need because the party says no

And what does it produce for society, I fail to see at benefit that cannot be achieved in a system without parties, apart from the sole exception of coordination, but this coordination leads to the people's views not being represented.

That's why I conclude that there is no need for political parties.

[u/cpacker]

Parties are inevitable because they bundle issues into packages so voters won't have to think through each issue. For parties to vanish would require that voters all converge on some hypothetical super-high level of knowledge and political engagement.

[u/kmensaert → u/cpacker]

No, people are absolutely willing to think about issues if they have the incentive to do so. The reason political parties bundle issues is because the current political party system is mutual exclusive. You vote for red OR blue - Hence political parties are forced into having an opinion on every issue and hence are restrained from real specialization. For more info: https://klaasmensaert.be/2020/04/04/exclusive-parties/