michael-dean-k/

As someone who doesn’t identify with either party and has voted for both, I’ll have to reflect more on this [an essay of a friend].

There are definitely some exceptions that break a simple dichotomy. For example, a republic of different states can promote more diversity compared to a single globalized entity (it's ironic that Republicans are culturally against diversity, but structurally for it). And if you actually look at what a republic is, I’d say that offloading responsibility via election goes against the republican idea of autonomy.

There’s another interesting thread here on the nature of selfishness. Either end of the spectrum is wicked: I think it devolves into “altruistic” mobs or hubristic self-destruction. Maybe solving this paradox is key: selfish interests that benefit the larger organism.