Yes, I understand that FPTP means two party rule, and PR many little parties. However, I still don't see the necessary connection between two-party rule and a stunted welfare state. Britain instituted a very advanced (at the time) natonal health care system in the 40's. France has moved to a FPTP system recently to prevent the neofascists from getting any deputies, and social democracy is alive and kicking there. Why doesn't the US have a center-left party and a hard-left one, instead of the current Demopublicacy?
I suspect that PR or FPTP have a lot less to do with it than the way
campaings are funded. If the US moved to a PR system, a seat in congress
would still require to extract one to 20 million dollars from donors. We
may end up with a small nutjob libertarian party, a larger Christian
fundamentalist party, a large-corp. party (from which a small-business
party would probably split eventually), and smaller union, black and
hispanic parties. Politics would still be dominated by the right-wing
coalitions that
can afford all the TV ads, just like it is today.
>
> -- Dennis
-- Enrique Diaz-Alvarez Office # (607) 255 5034 Electrical Engineering Home # (607) 758 8962 112 Phillips Hall Fax # (607) 255 4565 Cornell University mailto:enrique at ee.cornell.edu Ithaca, NY 14853 http://peta.ee.cornell.edu/~enrique