The Importance of Political Parties

When the topic of political parties arises, initial associations often include partisanship and polarization. Many times, I’ve heard people say that the problem in our political system is that the division between political parties is too big, and the solution is to just “get rid of political parties and work together.” Recent polls (below) show that the American opinion of the two leading political parties is extremely unfavorable. However, there should be a distinction made between partisanship, and the functions that political parties serve. Furthermore, under our democratic system, the notion that it would be better to have one party than multiple conflictual parties is troubling. The United States is a significant-sized democracy, so it should be expected that constituents will have different opinions. In this case, popular sovereignty can only be promoted if people are allowed to voice their opinions, and political parties provide an excellent platform for doing so.

The main function of political parties is to mobilize people with similar ideologies concerning the economy, social rights, politics, etc. to help control governmental action. This is achieved by nominating and supporting candidates they believe will help get them what they want and helping as many possible get elected to office. Additionally, political parties serve to inform the public, keep the opposing party from gaining too much influence, and structure the government. From the start of political parties, with Thomas Jefferson leading the Democratic-Republicans and Hamilton leading the Federalists, political parties have helped mobilize groups of people who share similar beliefs, values, and wishes in policy.

Some people are so frustrated with the United States’ two-party system, and refuse to be associated with democrats or republicans, that they will identify as independents. Some independents claim that by having two major (controlling) parties and some states allowing closed primaries, they are excluded from the voting process. However, independents have a few options. They can join one of the smaller political parties or form their own if they desire. Even then, the political process is not excluding them since they can vote in the general election which is when it is truly significant. Most independents however will just vote for whoever they perceive as being the lesser evil so that their vote matters more than a write-in. Unfortunately, in the United States system of first-past-the-post, it is evident that people are incentivized not to vote for a lesser known candidate that they prefer, and instead vote for a well-known candidate that they prefer less simply because they believe it would be a wasted vote. In contrast, if a proportional representation system was adopted, voters could support the candidates they truly wanted to win without the fear of wasting their votes. This system would also potentially promote voter turnout rates for this reason.

Part of President Trump’s appeal to the American voters was that he wasn’t a prominent player in a political party, or even in politics. Traditionally, having some outsiders does help prevent too much corruption in politics. However, this does not mean that we should resort to extremely unusual means such as getting rid of political parties. America needs political parties to keep our government from becoming too disorderly. Without them, there would be severe limitations on ability to govern, balancing viewpoints, and keeping powers in check. What political parties should do however, is critically examine their structures and influences which cause the American people to distrust them so much. By re-evaluating party stances and structure, political parties could eventually gain back the support of the public and contribute to our political process in a beneficial manner.

Sources:

http://news.gallup.com/poll/181985/neither-major-party-cracks-favorability-latest-poll.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=heading&utm_campaign=syndication

http://www.ushistory.org/gov/5a.asp

www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/opinion/need-political-parties.html

5 Responses to "The Importance of Political Parties"

Klein Evans says:

April 21, 2018 at 10:42 am

Thanks for a great post on political parties and their significance Cassandra. I completely agree that political parties provide a legitimate platform for important figures to voice their opinions and plans. We do need political parties in order to continue to find the best possible policies for our nation. However I think that the way in which they interact with each other is the factor that requires change.

The nature of elections and the competitive mind state that is seen in representatives allows for not much collaboration between the two parties. I think that the best solutions and answers are sometimes overlooked in result of parties looking out for the best interest of the party rather than the nation. If there was less competition between representatives and trying to earn positions I feel that the two could work together and produce much better policies in order to improve our country for all, instead of just their well being.
Michael De La Cruz says:

April 22, 2018 at 5:04 pm

Hey Cassandra, this is a great post.

Maybe a solution to the two-party system isn’t a large unified party, but perhaps a multitude of smaller parties. If we look at the purposes of political parties, then it could become apparent why more parties might be a better solution. The purpose of political parties is to select candidates, inform and mobilize voters, help organize the legislative process, and serve as watchdogs of the current party in power.

If there were to more parties, then more candidates could be selected. This would ensure that all areas of interest for voters are covered and it would provide voters with more options. More candidates would also mean more competition. If there were more competition, then perhaps the best candidate would emerge from the race. More voters would also be informed and mobilized. Since more political parties would mean a diversification in ideologies, voters would be more likely to find their options represented by a political party. This would lead to more voters familiarizing with a party and could possibly lead to a higher voter turnout. More parties would also lead to more watchdogs. If you were trying to protect everything that you have worked hard for, then the more watchdogs that you have, the more security you would have around your possessions. This could also be applied to political parties where the increase in parties could lead to a better defense of the United State’s political system.
1. Michael De La Cruz says:
  
  April 22, 2018 at 5:05 pm
  
  Source:
  https://www.shmoop.com/political-parties/faq.html
Marc Bosch Valentines says:

April 24, 2018 at 10:51 pm

Cassandra,

Thanks for this thoughtful post I found it really interesting and it triggered many relevant issues that the popular opinion is having today with political parties. I completely agree with your viewpoint regarding political parties. They are essential to guarantee that certain policies get completed at the same time as they are vital and imperative for the well functioning of the democratic system. The existence of political parties provides citizens with a reference point from which they identify which one best fits their needs. In the US the existence of two political parties makes things much easier. For instance, in Catalonia, which is where I am from there are a lot of political parties so that the congress is fragmented and many times it is difficult to pass laws because of the constant negotiations among the parties that obtain representation. It is also difficult for the voters to have a clear rationale for voting one party or another. As a curiosity, in Spain there is also the unique voting policy which means that every elected member of the party has to vote the same as everyone else from the same party.
David Hayden Lyles says:

April 25, 2018 at 1:22 am

Cassandra,

This is a really interesting post regarding the importance of political parties. Personally, I believe that the existing two-party system is most effective for our democracy, although I do acknowledge the increasing polarization between and even within both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Firstly, two political parties simplify voter choices in elections by embracing a broad range of people across the nation. This inevitably requires each party to find common positions and prevents extremist policy making. Compromise between two parties, particularly in Congress, is necessary for legislation to pass through the government. Compromise would be extremely difficult for liberal socialists and moderate leftists if they were separate parties; however, with the current two-party system, they must cooperate and come to an agreement for policy making to occur. Amendment XII states, “the person having the greatest number of [electoral] votes for President, shall be President, if such number be a majority.” In a multi-party system a strict majority would be nearly impossible unless parties could create coalitions with each other to fashion a majority, which would ultimately turn into a “two-party” coalition.
In this era of polarization among and within parties, the efficiency of our government is low. I agree that a reevaluation of party stances and structure is necessary for efficiency to return to government and compromise to thrive between parties with varying perspectives.
Thanks again!

Hayden

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