Meaningful freedom has always implied responsibility.

In conversation about politics and in campaigning across the range of elections to democratic institutions, these points have been made to me often:

1. “All the parties seem the same.”
2. “We don’t know what we are voting for.”

So, in these quick guides, I will sketch the origin of the political parties and the beliefs generally shared among their members, the democratic institutions and their relationships and the parties’ policies. I’ll also indicate some criteria for clear thinking. Other subjects may crop up.

These will be sketches, not treatises. They will be incomplete and perhaps even tongue-in-cheek or biased, but they will link to further information for the interested.