Political Parties

Let's debate within this community the potential merits and pitfalls of introducing political parties into Cardano governance.

The first few days of Project Catalyst have given us the chance to identify different priorities. Let's debate and rigorously define them.

I've never really dreamed of attending a constitutional convention, but that's what Project Catalyst feels like. Echoing other Ideas submitted here, I am submitting this one as another lens through which we might debate the best models for governance.

The promises and abuses of party politics are well-documented, and anyone who joins this conversation is welcome to cite history in contribution to this debate. Personally, I'm not sure I even like the idea of introducing party politics to Cardano, but that's exactly why I'd like to get your thoughts.

I am not suggesting names, or even any definite number of parties - an outcome of "heck no, let's not take it in that direction" would be a perfectly successful one for this proposal. I am attaching below a summary of some of the dynamics I have so far observed at play in this community, and have tried to avoid any qualitative judgement in my wording. This list is by no means complete, in fact, it might encourage you to brainstorm your own such chart as an exercise in reflection.

Please review other proposals for ideas of how governance concerns might be segmented. What would it look like to have a multi-dimensional constellation of overlapping segments?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.