Do the Libertarian Party and the Green Party Need Each Other to Thrive?

Breaking the two-party system in the United States is something that is much talked about, but no third party seems even close to emerging as a major player in American politics. What the Democratic and Republican parties do so well is to create big tents that draw people with myriad views together. Don't let anyone tell you differently: both parties ARE diverse. The Democrats bring together advocates for the poor, abortion rights supporters, and environmentalists. The Republican Party includes religious conservatives primarily concerned with social issues, fiscal conservatives primarily concerned with economic issues, and libertarians primarily concerned with individual liberty. Each constituent group (and there are of course many, many more than those I just named) would ideally prefer a party more aligned with their interests, but their fear of the other party binds them to the Big Party that they must share even with some of their ideological rivals.

Strategic voting is an entirely rational phenomenon. If a normally Democratic voter defects to the Green Party, the Republicans are indeed in a stronger position...but if a normally Republican voter defects to the Libertarian Party, the Democrats gain. Of course, not every Green or Libertarian vote benefits one of the big parties -- often people who vote third party are disgusted with both Republicans and Democrats -- but strategic voting is probably the main reason Democratic voters stay Democrat and Republican voters stay Republican. They figure they're better off with a party that might not represent them too well but at least isn't diametrically opposed to their position. This places other parties in a tough position: if they can't win over many regular voters, they're stuck recruiting the entirely disaffected and unregistered who may be uninterested in politics or have much more cynical attitudes about voting.

There is an alternative path, but it would require a strange alliance. Two of the leading alternative parties, the Green Party and the Libertarian Party, appeal to markedly different constituencies. With its focus on environmentalism, social justice, and central planning, the Green Party shares many of the same ideals as many current Democratic voters. Because of its focus on liberty, noninterventionism, and smaller government, the Libertarian Party would be a natural home for many current Republicans. Neither alternative party could quite accommodate all those in the big tent of either the Democratic or Republican Party; for instance, pro-war or pro-nuclear power Democrats probably wouldn't feel welcome in the Green Party while social conservatives and anti-immigration advocates would likely feel uncomfortable in the Libertarian Party. However, wide swathes of both major parties could find a home among either the Greens or Libertarians. To defeat strategic voting, both Republican and Democratic voters need to have an alternative; thus, viable Green and Libertarian candidates need to compete strongly in the same races. Instead of there being a situation where a vote cast for a third party will automatically benefit the other big party, each voter will be conscious of the multiple competing options and feel more free to vote their conscience. The only way to take down the two party system is to weaken both of the two parties that dominate it.

Forging such an alliance in a way that could actually make a difference would be tricky. After all, each person has only have one vote -- a Libertarian can't send a "booster vote" towards a Green candidate while also supporting a candidate who represents his or her interests. However, the party organizations can (and have in the past) work together on matters like ballot access. Libertarian and Green donors could also support the other party and its candidates financially so they could better reach out to their potential voters. This, however, would require a great deal of nose-holding on both sides. There might be some level of agreement between the parties on certain issues, like the Iraq War, but in general they favor opposing approaches: the Greens want to use government as a vehicle to create a better world whilst the Libertarians want government to free each individual to create a better world. The Libertarians are as skeptical of the good will of the government as the Greens are of the good will of the individual. The potential rewards of such an alliance, however, could be vast...and it might be the quickest way both parties could emerge as serious elements of the American political landscape.