The Importance of Competition

Ideally, multiple viable Third Parties should compete for power and influence. By introducing not just one, but multiple moderate parties into the political system, we may hope to decentralize power and distribute influence to different segments over the course of time.

The ultimate goal should not be to centralize power into a new Third Party, but rather to decentralize power into multiple new Third Parties (eg Fourth Parties, Fifth Parties, etc.). This provides the philosophical benefit of continued decentralization.

Additionally, from a pragmatic perspective, we may think of Third Parties as cannibalizing votes, either from Republicans or from Democrats. In order for a Third Party to thrive, a Fourth Party is required to offset cannibalization.

That is to say, Thee New Party is moderate, but leans left. Therefore it cannibalizes liberal votes. However, Thee Other Party is moderate, and leans right, thereby cannibalizing conservative votes. In this way a balance is achieved, and both new parties are able to advance.

Without a Fourth Party, a Third Party will only weaken one side or the other, with slim chances for long-term development. The existence of a Fourth Party improves competition all around.