Disintegration of the American Party System?

 There is no doubt that the Americana Party system is in a crisis mode and is in the process of disintegration.  The Republicans are battling it out in their primaries and appears that by their convention there may be no clear winner.  In addition, there is a recalcitrant opposition from the Republicans in Congress fighting Obama on every turn and not working in a bi-partisan manner The recent battle over the Canadian-US pipeline (Keystone Pipeline Project) is a prime example of big corporation money shaping the agenda of the Republican Party and the use of ‘blackmail’ to tie the Pipeline to the extension of job benefits for the unemployed lead by the U.S. House Chairman, House Speaker John Boehner. Obama is making a lack luster campaign so far and is reluctantly the only choice for Progressives and Liberals.

Meanwhile, there is a growing dissatisfaction with the whole system as seen in the growing Occupy Movement and Progressive Movement.  There is an awareness of many in the U.S. population that both parties are out of touch with what is needed to address pressing problems.   ‘Under the radar’ are third parties who are aligning themselves generally with the Occupy Movement such as the Green Party and a new party, The Pirate Party.  The Pirate Party’s platform is for allowing for more freedom in the Internet and opposing the corporations who are attempting to change it and censor it.  It is also noteworthy that the Occupy Movement, the Green Party and the Pirate Party have international networks.

The contrast between the vertical hierarchical party structure of the Republican and Democratic Parties as opposed to the vertical non-hierarchical structure of the Occupy Movement and the Pirate Party is one a an old dying system and an emerging one.  In the globalized complex world, is the tightly structured organization of the two parties out of synch with the reality of the national and international environment?  Are the grassroots movements emerging providing a glimpse of the future operation of politics?   From  my observations, the answer for both of these question is ‘yes.’  In this chaotic period in the US. and the globe, we see emerging a global movement which has never been seen before that is breaking down the barriers of nation-states and the hold that the economic nobility have held over their citizens for centuries.  How the politics of the Modern Era will transition to the Information Age is unknown at this time.  However, whatever will be emerging in the next few years will set the course of a world that will offer greater prosperity, equality, peace and sustainability than ever experienced before.