In My Humble Opinion I believe that America will not benefit from a third political party. I'm really not seeing the historical evidence over the timespan of about 250 years. In the modern era the time and money needed is stupendous to compete against Democrats and Republicans. No one, or two or five small independent parties achieve together anything beyond 10 percent of the vote nationally against the monolithic major two parties. If that much. Small regional third parties that support Democrats or Republicans can be efficient enough to get things done with the larger local party, but they too cannot compete together against the national machines.
I think what's needed and has the means to stand on it's own legs is a new labor movement. Something that is populist in that it fills wallets so that even conservatives will want to join eventually. Or give support to. We've lost track of how for about 20 years unions held their own between government and business, dealing with each.
FDR along with those who made him do it understood that creating a strong labor movement in the end had some chance to become self-sustaining. The genius of it is that by the 1950's where about 1 in 3 workers was in a union, it created a new economic and political entity which got to sit at the same table with big business and the government. As an equal with some power to bargain. Something we no longer have. Which was also an activator for liberal Democratic politics and elections.
By the way, full disclosure, a big part of this proposal has to do with winning. A long history of that. Consider that a proposal itself. With organized labor as a root of success, continuing Democratic reelections mid 20th century stretched for decades in Washington.
The relative ease of forming unions allowed self-organizing groups that banded together at the local levels and then together at the national level to flourish. Some countries were inspired to unionize heavily, sometimes becoming political parties. Or to the point where large numbers of powerful unions eventually created a structure where the average citizen in some countries today can have much more say in what their governments do in general than we have now.
Those labor and cultural organizations may have influence about more than just work. But also negotiating with business-at-large to create a worker-based economy. They can also engage activists, institutions and citizen support. I think in the end a new labor movement should be to create that economic institution as independent of both government and business someday, as a self funding people-driven force multiplier.
Instead of a third party. The mechanics for negotiation and sustainability are built in with organizing labor.
Ways to do that these days among citizens are where maybe organized groups can handle annoying details for the boss and self regulate worker issues. Or some bands start organizing so bar owners then don't have to deal with some other details and the organized should all have good shows that compete with other bands for more money. Maybe small teams of workers could offer their collective expertise to a company to be hired on as a value-added work group. Sometimes drivers, dashers and suchlike could offer better service as a small union group selling their team to companies for a higher collective rates for themselves? Be creative. Being better, smarter self-organizing workers is a pathway to making it happen.
But some laws need changing to allow for easier organizing. If we build back to at least 1 in 4 workers at union wages we could have that independent national economic powerhouse again. But to change laws to do that, we need people to petition the Democratic party hard to help ever more with this. Activists along with workers. To make all unionization ever more easy. With laws that also make businesses negotiate with unions and not busting them. We are starting to see a return to this which is great. But being aware of having a separate economy force representing self-organizing groups is not something that is clear to many people as it should be as an outcome.
Though this easier to do with value-added organizationing. With intent to collectively sell creative productivity. New ways of improving work environments in general. Which might mean the more autonomy given to organized people in the day of internet and cell phone. Doing the job more effectively with a goal of 21st century unions as more like partners with the owners rather than the workers or seen as a burden.
Maybe we need to consider having Democrats undo the Taft-Hartley act along with repealing other restrictive measures? Just as Republicans went after Roe v Wade. We could add some inclusive rights and changes and re-establish prevailing wages and new benefits with even more impact than we currently see with the reversal of Roe having on our nation. But overturning Taft and other overbearing restrictions would not be restrictive like Roe upon citizens. But expand benefits and opportunities instead.
Mostly though I suggest that it's important to keep in mind and to promote the idea that a large union presence is its own economic and political presence within a nation and could give us many more tools to operate with. And might eliminate the need many outside the party feel to focus on some mythical third party to unify Americans when the commonality of work itself is the vehicle that could to that.
