Rusted ons never sleep

Time for a post-party politics

Political debate is distorted by the loyalty people feel to one party or another, every bit much as it is by resort to authoritarianism and demagogues. Not that I haven’t been part of the process of political cheer-squadding myself at different times, but it is something we need to train ourselves to step outside of.

The one-eyedness of the rusted-on supporter is a running joke on Twitter at the best of times, but it is most apparent now in the organised way various Labor politicians are using that platform to attack the Greens, and I’ll come back to that.

I’m not against political parties, per se, but their existence brings a perspective to politics that is counterproductive, if not undemocratic. It’s not just that party loyalty blinds people to the problems on “their side” of politics; it is that the centrality of parties imbues the elected members of those parties with a sense of entitlement that interferes with their ability to govern in the national interest.

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