| On September 14, 2010, the State of Tennessee | | | | two-party system forces us to choose either |
| held a debate in Cookeville between the two | | | | conservative or liberal campaigns, in which our |
| candidates for Governor, Bill Haslam and Mike | | | | personal political views are lost. |
| McWherter. | | | | Furthermore, politics takes on the form of the |
| I wonder which appalls me more, the actual | | | | capitalistic markets. Politicians compete in such a |
| debate or its news coverage? | | | | way to generate votes, just as companies |
| Let's start with the political debate. We have | | | | compete for customers. Politicians capitalize on |
| reduced political debate to 5-10 categories around | | | | voters to extend the agendas of their respective |
| which politicians usually dance and parade or from | | | | parties. |
| which they divert to jab their opponents' political | | | | Here the media encroaches as a means to sell |
| integrity. | | | | newspapers, journals, and the like. Journalists |
| Haslam and McWherter dribbled about the same | | | | highlight the competing views, particularly the |
| tired topics: education, religion, and health care. | | | | political chattering and insults between candidates, |
| Fundamentally, the structure of this system | | | | as were exchanged between Haslem and |
| endorses the status quo because categories over | | | | McWherter. |
| which politicians fight control and restrict political | | | | Such a violent representation actually sells more |
| possibilities. Debating political issues isolates each | | | | newspapers, in the same way reality television |
| topic from other realms of political concern and | | | | sells "real" interpersonal conflict. By and large, such |
| neglects the intricate interrelation of political | | | | conflict incites the readers' emotions or own |
| categories. | | | | political viewpoints and thus intrigues the public as |
| For example, we hardly consider publicly that high | | | | a mode to sell. |
| health care prices encourage abortion. Or we do | | | | As it turns out, the front pages of newspapers |
| not consider that broadband encourages Internet | | | | headline political miscues or inappropriate conduct |
| users to buy from websites, name from large | | | | by politicians, along with big pictures. However, the |
| company websites, and discourages shopping | | | | results of a city counsel meeting grab a mere |
| locally. Politicians largely argue their positions in | | | | 100-words spot in the local section, unless the |
| terms of dollar signs and not for the political well | | | | issue is controversial of course. |
| being of the commonwealth. | | | | Therefore, we have transformed politics and |
| The two-party system too restricts political | | | | political news coverage into commodity. We herald |
| possibilities. Each voter may find themselves | | | | violence, not peace, in order to accumulate voters |
| cradling several different party lines on several | | | | and paying customers. We have reduced politics |
| different political categories. However, the | | | | to an ontology of capitalism. |