Two-Party System Flaws

Chapter 9 discussed the basis of America’s two party system. This system is born out the of the winner take all plurality elections type and the restrictions that prevent minor parties from generating influence. Because of this the strength of these two party system still continues to become more prominent. Yet as the prominence of this system grows, so does the tensions in our country. Today it seems as though Democrats and Republicans are more polarized than ever. This is in part as a result of these two parties becoming increasingly divided along ideological lines. That is, a strong correlation with being a democrat and a liberal, and being a republican and a conservative. This was not always the case and to some degree peoples party identification was influenced by other factors than their ideology.

Today political parties are be divided to the point that they are becoming increasingly hostile. I believe that some of that is a fault of the two party system. Since both of these political parties are extremely linked with being a liberal or a conservative there seems as though there are only two narratives of viewpoints in our country. In addition since the implication of both of these two parties are so opposite ideologically exists, some people in different parties feel morally driven to entirely discredit the entire opposing party. This also comes into play in congress today where people from different parties prioritize supporting their party regardless of their stance on the issues

I believe that much of the polarization that is present between the parties would not exist if America converted to a multiparty system. If America was to have a multiparty system, the intensity of the ideological divide would be much less strong than it is when just two parties are competing. In addition there would potentially be a lot less hostility in congress which would allow for more progress. Because minor parties in most multiparty systems are much more relevant, this could allow minority parties to use their voice and present many different opinions on issues instead of relying on two parties to determine a divide on issues with stances that can be much more radial than the median voter’s.

http://www.people-press.org/2014/06/12/political-polarization-in-the-american-public/

5 Responses to "Two-Party System Flaws"

Margaret Castelli says:

December 4, 2017 at 11:57 am

I think your points and statements about party polarization are important and increasingly significant in our current political climate. I feel that our country has never been more polarized, especially in the bounds of party lines. Your idea of the improvements under a multiparty system is great, and would probably have a positive impact on politics and the government in our country. However, the United States may struggle to implement this system as most countries with functioning multiparty systems follow the parliamentary system of government. This article by Rachel Eckhardt for the Huffington post outlines the potential that the US has for developing and implementing a multiparty system. Most democratic countries in this modern era follow this system and it is high time that American follows suit.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-eckhardt/the-more-the-merrier-woul_b_8387458.html
Lauren Toth says:

December 4, 2017 at 3:19 pm

The polarization of the parties in our government structure has brought problems not only with opposing parties but within political parties. We have seen in the news for the past few years of political party members verbally attacking the other’s reputation and ideology. In the more recent years we have seen inner party conflict where factions within the party’s begin to attack each other. If we converted to a multiparty system, I feel like we would just be dividing the same parties into “new” ones with varying ideology of the two main political parties in our system now. While this could reduce the inner party conflict, it may not reduce the conflict between opposing parties. It would however help the american people. It will offer options instead of having to choose one side or the other. More compromises could be made to find the median voter by mixing the ideologies. Converting to a multi-system party has potential to be helpful for our government, but I do not think it will ever be implemented, at least in the near future. The average American who is not well informed sides with a political party based on what they have heard about that party and how they react in political situations. Since the average American has their predispositions about the parties, it would be hard to divert them from who they identify with. A mass education of the new types of political parties will need to be given to inform the citizens for even a chance for them to survive our political environment. Our system does have minor parties, but they are seen as irrelevant because they do not have a large representation of voters because the two main parties dominate in the polls. There would also need to be a lot of support for another party to be seen in our environment because running for office is very expense. The major parties have a support base to finance their runs for governor and president, while these smaller parties with smaller support doesn’t. While it would be beneficial for our government to turn to a multi-party system, it is not realistic.
Emily Dunbar says:

December 4, 2017 at 9:54 pm

Even though you bring up some very important aspects of our government and the increased effect polarization has implemented on our governmental processes, the idea that we should form a multiparty system I believe it would put more strain on our government. Creating a multi-party system would just divide our government even more, making decisions more difficult to come to. I do agree that the polarization of political parties cause many issues, and needs to be addressed but your solution would put smaller groups against each other making the fight for power even greater. Each party will break into smaller groups and fight amongst themselves when they used to be a united party. This will lead to a less productive government and Congress will not be able to pass anything with so many disagreements and arguments. The political system needs to do what it can to come up with a solution that would limit the amount of polarization while not splitting the two parties into groups that just cause more issues.
Colby Ritten says:

December 4, 2017 at 10:19 pm

I definately agree with you about how these two parties are extremely polarized. This topic of polarization interested me and so I looked back to when exactly we started to see signs of when it began. Throughout the history of the United States, polarization has become more of an issue. Around the mid 1900s, one could see the start of a polarized mass. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was put into place which brought southern blacks into the electorate as Democrats causing conservative whites to shift their loyalty from the Democratic party to the Republican party, which at that time had fit their political ideology and racial morals (Dodd, 2017). Another small start to polarization was the rise of new social issues. The case of Roe v. Wade that led to the legalization of abortion and other issues such as gay rights led to split beliefs of each party (Dodd, 2017). As the Republican party took a more conservative view on those issues it attracted Evangelical Christians who populated southern electorates, which pushed socially liberal and moderate Republicans to accept a Democratic identity (Dodd, 2017). Due to the increasing differences of the political and social values of the parties, it has created a gap in the mass population. People with similar interests to a certain party are more likely to become loyal to them therefore those people will automatically vote for the candidate of their party. In a study from the American National Election Studies, it showed that in 2012, 94 percent of liberals identify as Democrats and 85 percent of conservatives identified as Republicans (Dodd,2017). This shows how the ideologies of both parties led to the polarization of the population and how a presidential system creates a split in the population. Regarding whether or not we should create a multi-party system, I think it could be good because looking at parlimentary systems in other countries, it seems to be successful.
Grant Golden says:

December 4, 2017 at 11:26 pm

It is a good point and blatantly obvious unfortunately that todays political parties are becoming polarized. It is leading the country into a constant cycle of the parties being so individualistic that they do not necessarily care to negotiate and not a whole lot seems to get done. It is a sad observation and one that we can not deny but continue to try and come together rather than move apart. Another point that you made that i found very interesting was about how the opposite parties seem to “entirely discredit” one another. This is a very important point when it comes to this topic and something that plays a huge role in the overall problem of nothing being able to get done. Unfortunately, not only are the parties beginning to totally discredit each other, but so our their supporters. I think we have all seen the families of todays society that are majorly liberal or conservative and it is either “you’re all in or you’re all out” and they seem to extremely irrational. This is causing our own American people to completely discredit each others beliefs and they are turning out to be just as bad as the parties they support.

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