A Tale of Two Parties
A two part article - What's to know?
Have you ever wanted to understand the fundamental differences between our two political parties? I found this article interesting and a deep dive in understanding the birth of our parties, their growth and changes over time, all in one place.
Some commenters say this as a bunch of drivel and tripe. I don't know if I would go that far, after all, it is heavy reading and a bit daunting for those who don't want to want to dig deep. I decided to post anyway, just in case there might be some interest, and for those of us who want to understand, it could be enlightening.
It's a thought piece written for the City Journal in 2015, in two parts by Harvey Mansfield, Sr. Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University. He has conservative leaning, but I found the piece evenly balanced as he compares the philosophies of both parties.
So settle in and click the links below for some thought provoking insight. Happy reading!
For lighter fare, please click on the link below. Although outdated, this site gives an overall comparison of policies during the presidential race in 2016. I place it here so you can view the comprehensive study of party differences listed at the bottom of the page. Also, there are associated links for more information on history, etc. It is easy to read and apolitically researched.
Party difference - Democrat_vs_Republican
Photo courtesy of Firman Kholik
Interesting how each party is labeled:
ReplyDeleteThe Democrats: how progress became drift
The Republicans: party of virtue
The titles, rightly or wrongly, led me to begin reading with the idea that the author or publication tended more to the conservative side. Unfortunate choice of words in my opinion!
“ To be a Democrat is to believe that government must be concerned, above all, with counteracting ill luck; to be a Republican is to believe that government should sustain, rather than punish, the virtue of citizens and incidentally help out those who, through no fault of their own, do not succeed in managing their own lives.”. This didn’t help. I have to be honest, I have not read either in its entirety so perhaps my takeaways would be refuted. I’ll keep reading.
Thank you for the comment. Yes, it is an opinion piece that digs deep, but I suggest reading on. I found his labels interesting, which compelled me to read on to discover why he gave those descriptive labels. In the end, some will find it to be a fair analysis, neither side being more virtuous than the other. It is a matter of choice after all.
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