The Dems and the AfD
Really, Obama’s Democrats were like the far right German AfD?
Once upon a time, on social media, there was a statement:
So let’s dig up the Democratic party platform document from 2008
and the German equivalent, called “Parteiprogramm” of the AfD which is from 2023
https://www.afd.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Programm_AfD_Online_.pdf
and go to Claude.ai, known for it’s ability to parse large docs
“Please compare the policies of these 2 political parties, one in the US and one in Germany, please analyze where they agree and point out where they differ. “
We run into a small problem
Ok, let’s convert both PDF to plain text (for example by opening the PDFs in MS Word and saving them in plain text) to reduce the size of the document and then try again. We also take the opportunity to remove -some- potential AI bias by replacing the terms “Democratic Party” and “Democratic Platform” with “Party” and “renew America’s promise” with “renew the promise” and replace AFD with the German word for Party “Partei”.
We also want our prompt to be as unbiased as possible:
“You are a scientist. Please compare the programs of these 2 political parties, one in the US and one in Germany, please analyze where they agree and point out where they differ. In your analysis please adhere strictly to these uploaded documents and do not rely on any other sources.”
This is what a paid subscription of Claude.ai gives us (Sonnet 3.5 v2 model from October 2024) :
I’ll analyze the programs systematically, focusing on key policy areas where these parties converge and diverge based solely on the provided documents.
Key Areas of Agreement:
Reform of Government Systems
- Both parties emphasize reducing bureaucracy and streamlining government operations
- Both advocate for more transparency in government and fighting corruption
- Both support strengthening local/state governments versus centralized control
Infrastructure Investment
- Both support major investment in infrastructure, including transportation and digital networks
- Both emphasize the importance of maintaining and modernizing existing infrastructure
- Both see infrastructure as key to economic competitiveness
National Security/Defense
- Both support strong national defense capabilities
- Both advocate for well-equipped and properly funded armed forces
- Both emphasize the importance of cybersecurity
Key Areas of Divergence
Immigration Policy
- The German party takes a much stricter stance on immigration, explicitly opposing multiculturalism and advocating for significant restrictions
- The US party supports comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants while strengthening border security
Climate Change & Energy
- The German party explicitly rejects climate change policies and calls climate protection measures “irrational”
- The US party strongly emphasizes climate change as a major threat and advocates for aggressive action on renewable energy and emissions reduction
European Union/International Organizations
- The German party is deeply skeptical of the EU and advocates potentially leaving it
- The US party strongly supports international institutions and multilateral cooperation
Social Issues
- The German party emphasizes traditional family structures and cultural preservation
- The US party embraces social diversity, LGBTQ+ rights, and multicultural perspectives
Healthcare
- The US party advocates for universal healthcare coverage and expanding access
- The German party’s healthcare positions are less prominent but focus more on market-based solutions
Economic Philosophy
- The German party emphasizes national sovereignty in economic matters and is more protectionist
- The US party balances market forces with government regulation and supports international trade with conditions
The key philosophical difference appears to be that the German party’s platform is more nationalist and traditionalist, focusing on preserving what it sees as traditional German culture and sovereignty, while the US party’s platform is more internationalist and progressive, embracing diversity and global cooperation. The German party often frames issues in terms of national identity and preservation, while the US party tends to frame issues in terms of expansion of rights and opportunities.
This analysis is based strictly on the provided documents and avoids any external context or information.
Now on to ChatGPT version gpt-4o also the paid version, let’s try the same
Here’s a comparative analysis of the platforms of the two political parties, one from the United States and the other from Germany, based strictly on the content provided in the documents:
Areas of Agreement
Democratic Principles and Reform:
- German Party: Advocates for direct democracy, including introducing Swiss-style referendums and reducing parliamentary size to empower citizens more directly.
- American Party: Emphasizes restoring fairness, increasing government accountability, and ensuring voter rights.
- Shared View: Both support reforms to enhance public participation and reduce undue influences on governance.
Economic Modernization and Employment:
- German Party: Promotes reducing bureaucracy to empower small and medium enterprises and support for families.
- American Party: Focuses on job creation, infrastructure investment, and promoting small businesses.
- Shared View: Both prioritize economic reform to support businesses and create job opportunities.
Environmental Policy and Energy:
- German Party: Focuses on controlled renewable energy deployment while reassessing nuclear and fossil fuels.
- American Party: Advocates for renewable energy investment and a green energy economy.
- Shared View: Both see transitioning to sustainable energy as vital but differ in their preferred methodologies.
Social Welfare:
- German Party: Supports reforms to ensure fairer social security and pensions, focusing on traditional family structures.
- American Party: Emphasizes comprehensive healthcare, social security expansion, and poverty reduction.
- Shared View: Both are committed to strengthening social support systems.
Key Differences
Approach to Governance:
- German Party: Advocates a smaller state with limited roles outside core areas like security and justice.
- American Party: Supports expanded government roles in health, infrastructure, and energy.
- Divergence: The German platform emphasizes minimizing state functions, while the American platform supports a broader government scope for public good.
Cultural and Immigration Policies:
- German Party: Strongly emphasizes preserving traditional German culture, limiting immigration, and scrutinizing cultural integration.
- American Party: Focuses on inclusion and diversity, improving immigration policies to benefit families and the economy.
- Divergence: Fundamental contrast in attitudes toward cultural integration and immigration policies.
Military and Security Policy:
- German Party: Supports maintaining national defense sovereignty and reinstating conscription.
- American Party: Advocates strengthening global alliances, reforming military practices, and combating terrorism with modern strategies.
- Divergence: German focus is on national security independence, while the American platform emphasizes global leadership.
Gender and Equality:
- German Party: Opposes “gender mainstreaming” and related policies.
- American Party: Strongly supports gender equality, including wage equity and reproductive rights.
- Divergence: Starkly opposing views on gender policy and equality.
Energy Transition Focus:
- German Party: Cautious about rapid renewable energy adoption, critiques existing energy subsidy systems.
- American Party: Strongly supports aggressive renewable energy adoption through cap-and-trade and government incentives.
- Divergence: Different timelines and strategies for transitioning to sustainable energy.
OK, let’s see what Grok says, the AI that Mr Musk funds.
I do not have a Grok subscription and the free version of Grok does not support uploading of documents so I pasted the contents of the 2 text files into the prompt field which worked remarkably well. Please note that Grok identifies the 2 parties, even though their names have been carefully removed. It was not supposed to do this:
Here is a comparison of the political programs of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Democratic Party of the United States, based solely on the documents provided:
Similarities:
National Sovereignty and Independence:
- AfD: Strong emphasis on national sovereignty, particularly against EU overreach, advocating for more control over German policies.
- Democrats: Support for American leadership on the world stage, but with an emphasis on multilateralism and reasserting national interests independently from the previous administration’s policies.
Critique of Current Governance:
- AfD: Criticizes the German government for various policy failures, including economic and immigration policies.
- Democrats: Highlights the failures of the Bush administration, focusing on economic policy, war efforts, and domestic issues like health care and education.
Cultural Identity:
- AfD: Focuses on preserving German culture, language, and identity, opposing multiculturalism.
- Democrats: While not focusing on cultural preservation in the same way, they emphasize unity and shared American values across diverse communities.
Economic Policies
Both parties express concerns about economic disparity and job security, though their methods and focus differ:
- AfD: Advocates for tax reforms, reducing government size, and supporting traditional industries.
- Democrats: Propose economic revitalization through investment in education, infrastructure, and green technology, alongside tax reforms to benefit the middle class.
Differences:
Immigration:
- AfD: Very critical of current immigration policies, advocating for strict controls, integration measures, and an end to mass immigration.
- Democrats: Support for comprehensive immigration reform, advocating for humane treatment, pathways to citizenship, and integration.
European Union vs. Global Leadership:
- AfD: Seeks to reduce EU influence, promoting national policies over EU directives, including opposition to the Euro and EU bureaucracy.
- Democrats: Focus on strengthening international alliances, leading in global issues like climate change, and engaging with international bodies like the UN.
Social Policies:
- AfD: Traditional family values, opposition to gender mainstreaming, and a conservative stance on social issues like abortion and marriage.
- Democrats: Progressive on social issues, advocating for gender equality, support for same-sex marriage, comprehensive reproductive rights, and inclusive policies.
Environmental Policies:
- AfD: Skeptical of climate change policies, opposing the German Energiewende (energy transition) and renewable energy mandates.
- Democrats: Strong advocate for environmental protection, with commitments to combat climate change through green energy initiatives and cap-and-trade systems.
Education and Health:
- AfD: Proposes reforms in education focusing on traditional structures and reducing ideological influence, with a conservative approach to health care.
- Democrats: Push for universal health care, significant investments in education for all levels, and emphasis on innovation and accessibility.
Military and Security:
- AfD: Wants a strong, independent Bundeswehr but against international military engagements like a European army.
- Democrats: Support for military reform, ending engagements like Iraq responsibly, and focusing on counter-terrorism, with an emphasis on diplomacy.
Conclusion:
While both parties critique current governance and seek to address economic issues, their approaches to cultural identity, international relations, social policies, and environmental concerns are markedly different. AfD focuses on nationalistic policies and cultural preservation, whereas the Democrats advocate for a more inclusive, progressive, and internationally cooperative approach.
Summary after trying multiple LLMs
I also tried a few more LLMs (Meta Llama 3.3 and Google Gemini 1.5) but their context window or web form was not large enough to process the amount of text, required to do this.
So, as one would suspect, the Democratic Party from 2008 and the AfD differ quite a bit, and Mr. Musk could perhaps provide further insight why he believes that they have the same policies.
It is clear that the “Party platform” or “Parteiprogram” are not the only sources of information when it comes to judge political parties. Mr. Musk’s Grok goes on to explain:
On a technical level I am a little surprised how well Grok does, even the free version, and I continue to be amazed how hard Google finds it to compete.
