this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This was an enlightening comment and I appreciate it. I may not agree with all of it but it definitely shows there are some perspectives I haven't considered. A parliamentary or council type system could definitely provide enough representation of different working class communities within a single party. I wonder if they had term limits, or if their representatives would fall into the same hole as the US Congress.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

You might be interested in Cuba's representative system then. Politicians there aren't allowed to propose policy or platforms, instead they act purely as representatives from community interests. Cubans can initiate votes of non-confidence in their politicians as well, at any point to have them removed from office. They don't make great salaries either, and if they're party members they're required to pay regular dues. There aren't term limits. I remember there was some kind of referendum a while ago about Cuban term limits and they were declared undemocratic, plus they didn't make sense in regards to Cuba's long term economic plans.

Cuba has one of the most robust democracies in the world. Their constitution was rewritten in 2019 and it was a countrywide effort, starting at things like local union halls and referendums sent to people's homes.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago (2 children)

See that's how you fuckin do it. I've always been angry with the US for holding Cuba back. I would love to see where they would be now without the sanctions.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wouldn't party dues be a bad thing here because they gate poorer members?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not sure how Cuban party dues work, but I do know there's an application process and not everyone gets membership. Not sure how it works in regards to income level either

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Requiring application is good, I just don't like it costing money

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

The common socialist position is that term limits are anti-democratic not just because they keep people from voting for who they want to but, more significantly, it tilts the scales in favor of structures that do not have term limits. In the US, for example, elections are essentially completely controlled by private companies from the media to the National Conventions, and term limits check the power of popular candidates (and therefore popular sentiment) versus capital, which does not expire in 8 years.