Comments on: A people divided http://pdf23ds.net/2006/08/02/a-people-divided/ I will not be swayed be every small current; nor will the memes faze me or infect me. I am pure. I am intelligent. I am rational. I am at peace. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:11:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: pdf23ds http://pdf23ds.net/2006/08/02/a-people-divided/#comment-148 pdf23ds Thu, 03 Aug 2006 21:38:15 +0000 http://pdf23ds.net/2006/08/02/a-people-divided/#comment-148 Oh, and has this dynamic been historically present in America? Or am I mistaken in thinking that recent elections have been trending to be closer and closer? Oh, and has this dynamic been historically present in America? Or am I mistaken in thinking that recent elections have been trending to be closer and closer?

]]> By: pdf23ds http://pdf23ds.net/2006/08/02/a-people-divided/#comment-147 pdf23ds Thu, 03 Aug 2006 21:36:38 +0000 http://pdf23ds.net/2006/08/02/a-people-divided/#comment-147 If that's the case, then it would imply that it's pointless for liberals to try to change the ideological makeup of the the party from the inside out. The only way to change the party is to change the opinions of the voters who elect the party. This connects to the thesis that's been going around for I don't know how long that the ascendency of the new Republican party had everything to do with effective media manipulation that shifted the cultural zeitgeist rightward, and that the only effective way to turn the tide is to use the same mass-media tactics. Complicating the issue, of course, is that mass media itself has been undergoing a revolutionary change for the past seven or eight years that will probably be complete in another five absent further disruption. If that’s the case, then it would imply that it’s pointless for liberals to try to change the ideological makeup of the the party from the inside out. The only way to change the party is to change the opinions of the voters who elect the party. This connects to the thesis that’s been going around for I don’t know how long that the ascendency of the new Republican party had everything to do with effective media manipulation that shifted the cultural zeitgeist rightward, and that the only effective way to turn the tide is to use the same mass-media tactics. Complicating the issue, of course, is that mass media itself has been undergoing a revolutionary change for the past seven or eight years that will probably be complete in another five absent further disruption.

]]> By: John Cowan http://pdf23ds.net/2006/08/02/a-people-divided/#comment-139 John Cowan Thu, 03 Aug 2006 19:36:52 +0000 http://pdf23ds.net/2006/08/02/a-people-divided/#comment-139 Yes, there is such a dynamic, given that U.S. parties aren't really ideological. Economic efficiency says that given a spectrum of views among voters, each party will adjust its current platform (formal and actual) until it appeals to just 50% + 1 of them. Obviously this is Pareto-unstable. There's an Asimov story about an election reform where all races are settled just by selecting a single "most typical" voter and asking him questions. That's a parody of polling, of course, but it's an extreme version of what actually happens. Yes, there is such a dynamic, given that U.S. parties aren’t really ideological. Economic efficiency says that given a spectrum of views among voters, each party will adjust its current platform (formal and actual) until it appeals to just 50% + 1 of them. Obviously this is Pareto-unstable.

There’s an Asimov story about an election reform where all races are settled just by selecting a single “most typical” voter and asking him questions. That’s a parody of polling, of course, but it’s an extreme version of what actually happens.

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