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The best solution would be a reform of the voting system. It has become clear over the last decades that a two-party system slowly radicalizes both sides. It is

The best solution would be a reform of the voting system. It has become clear over the last decades that a two-party system slowly radicalizes both sides. It is also very problematic in the face of single-issue voters. But the two-party system exists just because first-past-the-post voting makes it a strategically bad choice to vote for anyone but the two dominant parties, and makes party-internal reform hard by making it a nonstarter to split a party, no matter how severe the disagreement. Now first-past-the-post made some sense in the 1700s, but with the vastly improved communication of the 1900s and 2000s it's just a bad voting system. Basically anything else is better.

onemoresoop 2y ago
Someone has to do those reforms in the first place.
- idle_zealot 2y ago
  Right. During stable times, neither party would take such a risk. Big reforms occur during unusual periods where a system experiences shocks and its limits are tested. If there was ever a time for voting reform it would be the 2028 term, assuming that Democrats actually manage to capitalize on the historic moment rather than capitulate and shift right while campaigning on some limp slogan like "back to normal."
leptons 2y ago
"All that is necessary for evil to win is for good people to do nothing", and 1/3 of the people of voting age did not vote in 2024 - they did nothing, they just didn't care. You can reform voting all you want but if a significant portion of people still aren't voting then it's not going to do much for the country.
Paul-Craft 2y ago
The direction of political discourse hasn't been toward "radicalization" per se. Democrats have only moved slightly to the left of where they were in the early 1970s, but the majority of that movement has taken place since 2011. Republicans, OTOH, have been moving rightward at a steady and near-constant pace since 1971, though they did start shifting faster around 2001. This has lead to Congress becoming significantly more conservative over time. Keep in mind, the Democrats would be considered just slightly left of center in most European countries. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-todays-congress-has-roots-that-go-back-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/10/the-polar... TL;DR: there's no "radicalization" taking place in the Democratic party. It's the Republicans that are driving it.
- adamc 2y ago
  I agree with this. I was once an independent. The dysfunction of the Republican party ended that.

onemoresoop 2y ago

Someone has to do those reforms in the first place.

idle_zealot 2y ago
Right. During stable times, neither party would take such a risk. Big reforms occur during unusual periods where a system experiences shocks and its limits are tested. If there was ever a time for voting reform it would be the 2028 term, assuming that Democrats actually manage to capitalize on the historic moment rather than capitulate and shift right while campaigning on some limp slogan like "back to normal."

leptons 2y ago

"All that is necessary for evil to win is for good people to do nothing", and 1/3 of the people of voting age did not vote in 2024 - they did nothing, they just didn't care. You can reform voting all you want but if a significant portion of people still aren't voting then it's not going to do much for the country.

Paul-Craft 2y ago

The direction of political discourse hasn't been toward "radicalization" per se. Democrats have only moved slightly to the left of where they were in the early 1970s, but the majority of that movement has taken place since 2011. Republicans, OTOH, have been moving rightward at a steady and near-constant pace since 1971, though they did start shifting faster around 2001. This has lead to Congress becoming significantly more conservative over time. Keep in mind, the Democrats would be considered just slightly left of center in most European countries. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-todays-congress-has-roots-that-go-back-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/10/the-polar... TL;DR: there's no "radicalization" taking place in the Democratic party. It's the Republicans that are driving it.

adamc 2y ago
I agree with this. I was once an independent. The dysfunction of the Republican party ended that.