> You could say - I might, though I'm not sure of this yet - is that
> the two parties serve as a kind of balancing act for capital. When
> things get too boomy, it's time for the Reps to come in and tighten
> the masses' belts. When the population gets restive after the round
> of austerity, it's time for a Dem to come in and throw the masses a
> few bones. We're on the verge of a bone-throwing phase, I guess.
Any guesses on what kinds of processes might make this kind of thing happen? Does too much boom-iness somehow signal to the opinion-forming elites that some tightening is in order? I wonder what those signals would be. Likewise, I wonder what signs of popular restiveness would cause the opinion-forming elites to push things over to the Dems. Maybe there's a way to exacerbate them so elites think they'll have to do something more radical to keep things calm.
-WD