America's Two-Party Corporate Duopoly

The two major parties aren't as different as you think they are. Democratic and Republican voters are more divided than ever, but that's not the case for elected officials. In this episode, we'll discuss the similarities between the two major parties, and consider whether trying to build a competitive third party would make a difference.

Further Reading:

America's Two-Party Corporate Duopoly – Second Thought

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Second Thought is a channel devoted to the things in life worth thinking about! Science, history, politics, religion...basically everything you're not supposed to talk about at the dinner table. Welcome!

[paragrinfalcon]

"Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out."

George Carlin

[deasys]

in the end it wasn't about American democracy, but the oligarchy we made along the way

[lukeparish]

Working class: please give us just a crumb of reform
Republicans: no
Democrats: no #blm 🏳️‍🌈

[niallsmctelevision]

Like Malcolm X once said, "You and I have never seen democracy, all I've ever seen is hypocrisy!"

[davidhoran]

“America is a one party state, yet with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.”

[unpopuler]

America only has one party and that is the business party
- Prof. Noam Chomsky

[alibarznji]

"folks I hate to break it to you, but you have no rights. they own you"
-George Carlin

[MrAmbil]

6:18 In my country (Spain), it is illegal for politician and parties accepting money from companies. It is corruption and classified as crime in law. Members of the European Parliament have to run away from lobbyists who try to chase them. A former treasurer of one of the two major parties is serving a 30-year prison sentence for those practices. What I see as completely legal in the USA, is unthinkable here.

[jacobsmith]

"You either vote for an oil president or you vote for a bank president" - Something I heard about American politics ages ago

[delve_]

"Choose the lesser of the evil people, and the devil's still gon' win."
— Killer Mike

[AllHaiLKINGTIsHeRe]

"If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it."
-Mark Twain

[RobertA-bjou]

“When people fear the government there is tyranny; when the government fears the people there is liberty” -Thomas Jefferson.

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

"The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

[ScudForEver]

America goverment be like: communist China is bad, because there is only ONE party!
Me: Oh rly? how many options you have?
America goverment: we have plenty! TWO!

[nophima]

Two bad parties is almost like having no choice. You can only choose the one that's less destructive.

[Pixx]

"You know why they call it the American Dream folks? Cause you have to be asleep to believe it."

George Carlin

[jellevandekerk]

I love how everybody is talking about both parties being bad, but nobody talks about how the US got a two party system. The republican and democratic party are just natural results of having a first past the post voting system. CGP Grey has an awesome (simplified) video about how a first past the post voting system will always lead to a two party system. To really enact change, the voting system has to change

[blarneystone]

"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum."

Noam Chomsky

[BenReillySpydr]

*Neoliberalism:* _"Using capitalism to secure military interests."_

*Neoconservatism:* _"Using military power to secure capitalist interests."_

See??? It's like totally different or something I guess...

[jacobwalker]

"The United States is also a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them." - Julius Nyerere