Term limitations of elected representatives

[chimx]

Some socialists seem to have a tinge of distaste for term limits and passing the torch onto new representatives. Chavez is the latest example, but far from the only. What does revleft think about term limits?

[spartan]

I can understand wanting term limits so as to make it hard for a potential Dictator to justify their continuing rule of a country, but term limits are an un-Democratic practice as they restrict people's choice.

The fact is if a country has a two term limit and the majority of people still want the outgoing leader to stay in office even after the completion of their two terms in office, they cant do anything about it and will instead have to choose candidates who they perhaps might not like when compared to the outgoing leader.

[Die Neue Zeit]

http://freedomroad.org/content/view/467/1/


There will need to be term limits in leadership. Experience demonstrates that irrespective of discussion about leadership being judged based on political line, the reality is that there is strength in the incumbency. When someone is in office for a considerable period of time, it becomes that much more difficult to unseat them. Tendencies emerge towards cults of personality, and this stifles newer and younger leadership. Thus, the party leadership must be subject to rotation--not ridiculously short tenures, but something along the lines of no more than ten years in a particular position before someone has to step down and be unable to run for the same position for at least another internal election cycle. New ideas and new individuals must be encouraged to advance to positions of leadership.

With the compromise above, the outgoing folks can come back, but after at least one term serving in some other capacity. :)

[BobKKKindle$]

I oppose term limits - if people think that someone has been able to fight for their interests they should have the freedom to return that person to office, instead of being forced to accept another candidate who may not be as competent. This does not mean, however, that we should support the emergence of a political stratum - we should encourage people to use the process of recall to replace leaders who are no longer able, and elected delegates should also be forced to report and justify all their decisions to the people that elected them.

[chimx]

I agree with Jacob. I've read of statistics saying that incumbency gives a politician a 25% lead off the bat.

[BobKKKindle$]

Term limits can also create "lame duck" politicians who assume a passive role in their final year in office, knowing that they will never contest an election or be forced to account for their actions, such that they have no incentive to make reforms.


I agree with Jacob. I've read of statistics saying that incumbency gives a politician a 25% lead off the bat.

The current US presidency suggests that this is not universally true. term limits are based on the assumption that people can't be trusted to make the right choices and so we need to modify the electoral system so as to create a desired outcome - this is a paternalist perspective, and would be unlikely to apply in a socialist society, due to increase participation in political affairs, which would result in greater voter awareness.

[Die Neue Zeit]

^^^ Congresses (both party and soviet) should be held annually at a minimum, so that the risk of having "lame duck" comrades would be minimized. :)

Something like Article 25 of the 1961 Rules of the CPSU (http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/docs/comrule.htm) would be good (one-third or one-fourth renewal), thus ensuring that the Central Committee isn't stacked with lame ducks. :)

If you two are talking about bourgeois democracy, then I don't care either way. :)

[hekmatista]

OK, you already answered my question on whether we were referring to the party that leads the revolution or the transitional state that it creates in the process. While I agree on the need for refreshing the leadership within our (so far) hypothetical leading party and would support measures such as term limits to promote that end, assuming complete freedom of speech and organization for workers' organizations within the workers' republic, political parties other than my (our) own would, as private autonomous gatherings of whatever workers supported them, adopt whatever internal policies they saw fit. The Soviets (or whatever they wind up being called) are another matter, and the usual proviso of instant recall obviates the need for term limits, unless the class, through its soviets, expressed a desire for them.

[Demogorgon]

I am pretty neutral on the matter. There are advantages to both sides of the coin. People should decide whether to impose term limits on a case by case basis.

[Joe Hill's Ghost]

Instant recall is usually a pretty barrier to entrenched power. Term limits should exist to break up consecutive terms of obscene length. Then again, we should hope to have very few elected positions and of those positions I doubt many people would seek to serve repeated terms, since they'll be unglamorous.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

In general, term limits are anti-democratic. They eliminate the ability of voters to elect the candidate of their choice because of some arbitrary "time limit" placed on the position in question.

[BIG BROTHER]

In Mexico part of the reason our revolution was made, was to get the dictator Porfirio Diaz out of power, and in the new constitution ban reelection as a way to avoid another dictatorship.

Yet after the revolution, we had the dictatorship of the PRI party for 71 years, with Carlos Salinas being the real lider, and the president just his puppet. So this has led me to conclude that setting term limits won't fix anything. And plus what if the people want to keep choosing their leader?

[Guerrilla22]

Term limits don't allow enough time for certain policies put forth by governments to be implemented or have an affect. Change, especially in countries like Venezuela and other Latin American countries can years to happen and only if a government is willing to stick to a revolutionary program. Imagine if Fidel only had four years to implement socialism in Cuba.

[Herman]

Term limits are undemocratic and unjust.

[Bastable]

It depends on the nature of the position and the baggage it carries with it. if it is a hyped up "leader of the party/nation/revolution" with a lot of power and responsibility vested in the position then there should be a term limit, to stop "captain charisma" from taking too much power.

Conversely, if it is an unglamorous job without too much power and responsibility in the holder of said position that would only be contested for by well meaning cadres, with a desire to do good, then I think term limits are unnecessary.

[Svante]

Term limits are undemocratic and unjust.

je consens,i f you dont like politicien then vote them out from the office.