The Stair Party’s Project: Decentralization of American Political Economy Philosophisn't

Alex Darlington, Chair of the Stair Party argues his wide-ranging, yet poignant critique of the American Political-Economic system. The American government has liberal democratic institutions, but the ways by which society is ruled more closely resemble kleptocratic ones. Rather than giving voters authentic choices to change the status quo, in his view, the two major electoral parties wield power the same way monopolies usurp competition in markets.  The systematic gatekeeping by the Republicans and Democrats drives away dark horse challenger candidates and scares voters into submission by constantly resorting to fearful “Vote for the lesser of two evils” rhetoric. Meanwhile, the government continues to devalue the currency to finance the public debt and America’s chronic trade deficit. During the pandemic, it lavished subsidies on multinational conglomerates that have outsourced production while neglecting the developmental potential of local communities. The Stair Party has a platform to reverse all these trends by spearheading development and industrialization along local lines. Though I challenged Alex on some of his assumptions about the American voter and repercussions in international politics,  I agree with many of his economic beliefs and critiques of corruption, at least in the spirit of devolving power to make it closer and more accountable. This was the single most challenging Philosophisnt conversation I have had so far. He has given me much to think about, and I hope listening to this episode does for you too.