Could The Pirate Party Become A Legitimate Political Force?
from the uphill-battle dept
I've said for a while now that I have problems with the Pirate Party's choice of names. While it does get attention, and perhaps helped jumpstart membership interest in what the party had to say, it still feels like a gimmick. Not only that, but a gimmick that limits the party's overall effectiveness in the longterm. It's been easy for politicians to simply brush the concerns of the party aside as being laughable from the start, just based on the name. And yet... the movement keeps moving forward. Obviously, the big win was Sweden's Pirate Party winning a seat in the EU Parliament, but soon after that, a well-known German politician switched affiliations to The Pirate Party, and last week came the news that another prominent German politician, a founder of that country's Green Party, has also joined the Pirate Party in Germany. And, of course, if you actually take the time to understand the party's position, it makes a lot of sense, and isn't the sort of crazy ranting that those against The Pirate Party seem to assume it must be. So, here's the question: can The Pirate Party really become a legitimate political force with such a name? Or will it always been seen as a fringe party?
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Filed Under: politics, the pirate party
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Re:
Piratcrat? (Pirat being the Swedish spelling.)
As to the larger question, I was ambiguous at first, but I think the name still gets needed attention, and over time I believe it will be changed by the party(ies)
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I actually don't know, but my vote would be for: Arrrrgghhhgonaut.
But, and this is REALLY important, whenever a member or rival of the party, or a member of the media speaks of its members, they shall be required, BY LAW, to close one eye and emphasize the "Arggghhh".
Reasonalbe? Hardly, but it sure would make Cspan a whole lot more fun....
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsJyfN0ICU
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That's a tough question ....
Paul
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Yeah, sorry about that. It should help draw attention, but I doubt it will ever be taken seriously. Then again, I think it'll be taken seriously if its ideas are ever taken seriously. If we as a society decide to seriously think about copyright law, patent law, etc etc then I think public opinion of the Pirate Party will follow suit.
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all the political powerhouses fight it
Meanwhile, it's the first time that we're really heading towards a global political party viewpoint, so that stands for something as well.
It's also kind of hard to label something illegal that a political party condones. Just think of what happens if we ever declared the republican or democratic party illegal for their actions, at best they pay some money out but they have so many hands in congress they can probably sweep anything under the rug.
US pirate party = subdued at the moment, but not for too long I suspect.
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It's in trying to come up with better names that l came to believe that Pirate Party is as good, or better, than any.
The problem is that their focus is quite narrow, but it affects EVERYTHING. So you run the risk of defining as overly specific or blandly broad. Pirate works because it immediately begs the question, "What is that?" Then you define your terms. (As for the people who already have an opinion on the term, you're not going to win them anyway.)
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If we ever had a law where those who drafted unconstitutional laws were to be held accountable a lot of the bad folks would be put into jail (most).
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Agree.
It is not the first time that a fledgling political party has named itself with a word that has significant negative connotations. 'Tory' was originally a term for outlaws, and 'Whig' was originally an insult.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tory#History_of_the_term
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whig_Party_( United_States)#Name
I would disagree that their focus is narrow, because as you point out, it effects everything. They have a very specific viewpoint, but since that viewpoint effects everything, it can be a big gain - at least in a coalition style government (as opposed to the US two-party government), because they can get behind many proposals that are beneficial to the end consumer as opposed to whichever entrenched incumbent.
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Re: renaming pirates as consumers
If Carla Bruni's pillowtalk idea of three strikes gets off the ground (and it looks like it might now that free speech and due process are struggling for an ever-diminishing air supply) you will see whole nations proud to call themselves pirates - especially when the alternative is to be branded criminals.
Yes, where do we sign up?
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Call me a pirate
On the other hand there is not much to lose by foregoing any attempt to cater to the current lot who consider any attempt at reasonable discussion 'disgusting'. The only way that the interests of this party will gain any influence on public policy is through votes, and they are getting them, so something must be working for them.
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The name is good
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Re: The name is good
The average non-file-sharing person will probably associate the party with the underdogs led by Johnny Depp; which, in turn, will give the Pirate Party a large chunk of the female demographic ...
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The name really isn't the most important element here, and the fact that it's causing politicians to ignore them makes a really great point. We're being overlooked because of an untrue stigma and we're tired of it.
It just means that when (and I do mean when) the party grows into something with true hitting power it will put them in an even better position.
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I like...
It fits with the pro-privacy message, and it invokes the idea that there may be legitimacy to what is too commonly called piracy.
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Re: I like...
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I like the name just fine
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Look for the inevitable pushback
That's right: The Ninja Party.
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Re: Look for the inevitable pushback
That's right: The Ninja Party."
Huh, and here I was going to go with the East India Trading Party.
Or maybe the Parrot Party....
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Perhaps...
That mental stumble probably causes a great number of those who would normally be against everything that the party stands for to marginalize it, thinking that it's a non-threat/small threat. At the same time it draws a great deal of people who, for one reason or another, believe in the values they hold or just like the name pirate (Quite a number of young people). I might have the same success if we were under some sort of nationwide martial law and started the "Mobsters Party" Promoting a stand down of the national enforcement and a return of law to the area law enforcement. The mob being the original localized law enforcement (kinda freaky when you think about that).
Just some thoughts.
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Strong support for PP among german students
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Politics and Horse Trading
viz: EPP (265, German Christian Democrats and French Gaulists); S&D (184, Socialist); ALDE (84, British Liberals and similar tendencies); Greens – EFA (55); ECR (54, English Conservatives plus Eastern Europeans); EUL-NGL (35, Nordic Green Left); EFD (32, Anti-EU); Non-Inscrits (27, not affiliated to EU parties).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament
Five percent or so is enough to hold the balance of power. The Pirate Party's objectives are fairly modest. It is much less expensive to make them happy than it is to make the Greens happy. Most industries are not critically dependent on the more unreasonable extensions of intellectual property. The number of industries dependent on carbon emission policy is much larger.
I think I am safe in saying that if you could promise President Obama five additional votes in the senate for Obamacare, and for an additional stimulus/bailout package, if one becomes necessary, you could have a carte blanche for just about every issue which was ever discussed on Techdirt since its inception. The points at which Techdirt disagrees with the Administration, on these issues, seem to be fairly limited (mostly copyright, I think?). Of course, under the American system, you probably couldn't deliver five senate votes in a simple way, but the European system is different.
Let me ask a question of the Americans here who generally support Mike Masnick: Granted, some of you are probably Libertarians, but, given that "Paris is worth a mass," as Henri IV said, would the trade envisioned above be unacceptable?
For those of you who are European, of course, the question is much less hypothetical. A little more organizing, in England and in France, and you will have your swing vote. So what are you going to do with it?
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Re: Politics and Horse Trading
Let's translate your terms into American: You think that it would be a likely trade(specifically to those you oddly presume to be Libertarians) to grant a whole new article's worth of powers to the federal government just to re-secure freedom of speech, which we ought still to have?
You ask me to trade a good leg to pacify a slasher who wants my arm? I think I'll feed him you instead.
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European Parliament
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Not your grandfather's party.
Their base IS the Internet community, and that demographic has certain expectations, like any other, which includes cynicism and irreverence. Other parties can only wish they were tapped in to such a powerful, global group of like-minded people.
It does not make us any less serious on issues. It is simply a way that we are meaningfully different from your normal run of politico.
Whether that translates into meaningful policy is another story.
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Re: Not your grandfather's party.
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Even when that happens, the party itself will always be limited in size becuase it doesn't currently have a comprehensive view on the majority of key political points (Foreign Policy/Economy/social welfare). While they touch on each one, it's not definitive enough to win my vote.
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- How useful is a party called 'The Democratic Party' in a democracy? And are those democrats really for a democracy?
- How useful is a Republican party in an established republic?
A rose by any other name smells just as sweet.
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The future of PPUK
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