How Political Parties Harm Democracy

Political parties have many functions, one of which is to uphold the principles of a democratic political system. A democratic political system is one which involves various features, such as a peaceful transition of power from one government to another, free and fair regular elections, people having open access to independent information, government accountability to the people and representative institutions and that the government operates in the broad interests of the people. Democracy can take a number of forms, the main two being representative and direct democracy. In the UK a representative democracy is in place. Arguably, the mere existence of political

A political party is defined as a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on policies and programs for the society with a view to promote their supporters' interests. In democracies, political parties are elected by the electorate to run a government. The United States is a considered a two-party system, with its two most powerful parties being the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Generally speaking, anyone who lives in the United States of America knows that there are two main political parties—the Republicans and the Democrats. Having two main parties has its advantages and, of course, its disadvantages. For example, in By the People James E. Monroe and Rogan Kersh (301) point out having this type of system creates “predictability and stability.” However, they also declare (301) it can “lead to a gridlock.” This is not a new concept either as there has been a divide since the beginning of both parties. The two parties more often than not disagree on various issues, while rarely agreeing on what is best for the country.

Unlike parties in many other countries, political parties in the U.S. are relatively weak in terms of their ability to mobilize voters to register and ultimately vote on election- day. This inability to mobilize voters has direct correlation to the fact that membership and affiliation in political

The United States Congress is more than likely the most significant representative institution in the United States government. Each member of Congress has a primary obligation to the district, to his or her constituency. Though Congress is divided into two parts, called the House of Representatives and the Senate, they both play different roles in the legislature process. Senate is more deliberative and the House is the more centralized and organized. Congress is supposed to represent the American people but they will not always make the “right” decisions, according to some individuals. Obviously it is impossible to please everybody, but surely the laws that are being passed are because Congress views some sort of usefulness from it. There are two different types of representation that was spoken about in the chapter including sociological and agency representation. Sociological is based off of the idea that if two individuals have similar background, character, interests, and perspectives, then they can correctly represent others’ views. Agency is when a representative is held accountable to a constituency for when that constituency is represented poorly. The constituents have the power to hire and fire their representatives.

The political system of America is very different from other developed and developing democracies. Most notable is the increased power bestowed on the upper house of the parliament, the extensive power held by the Supreme Court and the dominance demonstrated by only two major parties. In the United States, third parties have the least influence on the world’s most developed democracy’s political structure. In this democracy, people are under the US Constitution of the governmental system as well as state government and other units of local government. Local government entails counties, districts and municipalities. The evolution of the American political party system has come a long way; with Hamilton and Jefferson being regarded as the founder fathers of the modern party system. These were heads of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups in the 18th century of American politics. Ever since, the country has maintained a party system that has two main parties that are relatively stable. These are Democrats and Republicans and have remained in contest for election every time since the 1860 presidential elections. Initially, the Republican Party was the dominant party but the Democrats later gained dominance. However, the two parties became closely competitive and neither of them has been notably dominant since the 1970s (O'Connor & Sabato, n.d).

Political parties mobilize voters to win elections and implement policy goals. Parties use their stated policy goals (i.e., their platforms) as a way to mobilize voter support. Generally, in order to be successful in a two-party system, parties must have policy goals across a broad range of issue areas to appeal to a broad range of voters.

Today, politics vary drastically from what our Founding Fathers precedented in the genesis of the United States. September 19, marks the 208 anniversary of Washington’s Farewell Address, whether bad or for worse, George Washington’s insight is still relevant in today’s political stage of a dominant two political party platform. In George Washington’s Farewell Address, then former president Washington, states the possible weaknesses to unfold as a republic. The ideology of a political party with definite beliefs alters the opinions and pride held for the United States for the domination of one party. History within itself, has had multiple political parties for varying causes, however the split between the Democrats and Republicans, although

There are copious Americans who believe that the political party system is shattering our nation. In my opinion, our nation would not be the nation we are today without political parties. Other than presenting candidates and electoral campaigns to the electorate, political parties perform innumerable tasks to better the United States of America. They serve as institutionalized mediators between our society and duly elected representatives who are responsible for determining and executing legislations. They seek public policy priorities and civic needs and concerns identified by their affiliates and supporters. Political parties educate the people on how the political, electoral system, and general political values work. By doing so, voters are well informed of each party’s stance on specific matters. They also inspire individuals to participate in political decisions and turning their outlooks into policy options for all. Unlike other countries, America is a democratic nation we want our people to freely voice their thoughts and support the party who shares their interest and perspectives. In addition, political parties help to annihilate any unexpected shifts in political trends that hold the ability to disrupt the balance of our government. As we all know our nation is a two -party system that assist in advocating stability in the government, because there will only ever be two

The English Civil War in the 1600’s was fought between two parties in the government, the Tories and the Whigs, that either supported the king or disapproved of him. This violent show of political partisanship may have warned the Founding Fathers that political parties had the power to divide governments and lead to tyranny. Aside from the possibility of leading to a violent power struggle, political parties have the potential to draw away politicians’ loyalty from the American population as a whole to the benefit of their political group. Thomas Jefferson wrote that he never wanted to adhere to a group when he was capable of thinking on his own. He called submitting a whole opinion to a party, “the last degradation for a free and moral agent.” (Hatzenbuehler 32) Arduous bipartisanship also leads to a stalemate in Congress. According to a study by the Brookings Institute, in Congress seventy-five percent of salient issues in 2014 were in gridlock. (Binder 2016) Attitudes become increasingly sharp in politics as the political sides compete, each trying to prove the other a radical. If there were no political parties every member would most likely treat their fellow members with civility in the hopes that they would choose to support mutual

     A political party is an organization whose aim is to gain control of the government apparatus, usually through the election of its candidates to public office. Political parties take many forms, but their main functions are similar: to supply personnel for government positions; to organize these personnel around the formation and implementation of public policy; and to serve in a mediating role between individuals and their government. Political parties are as old as organized political systems. Two parties in particular, the Populist Party and the Progressive Party are alike in many ways, from their platforms to their general issues. In general, however, the structure and behavior of

Since the writing of the United States Constitution, the American government has been structured in a way that only truly allows for two parties. Of course there are numerous other smaller parties, however, the key is that these parties are smaller. The most successful way to become elected to a position in the American governmental structure is to have the backing of the Democratic or Republican Party. Over the two-hundred-year history of the United States the parties have changed names and fundamentally altered their core believes. Today, the distinction has become quite clear as the rise of polarization forces a clear, concise difference between the two parties. The Democrats must uphold the liberal ideals while the Republican Party carters to those of a conservative

In the United States, voters have the choice between Republican and Democrats for elected officials. While there are people on tickets for other parties, historically their chance of getting elected is slim. This is a reality that Americans have lived with, and its roots can be traced back to the beginning of the republic. Post-Revolution America brought about much debate over how the government should be ran, how big it should be, and how officials would be elected. Through this political turmoil, many agree that two men had strong voices in how the government should be shaped, Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, and they, combined with the overall eventual setup of the government, are what led to the formation and

There have been many different political parties since the beginning of the American political system. A political party is made up of a group of people that share common goals and ideals, and these people work together to help elect people to offices that share these goals to represent them. Political parties work to try to control the government and their ultimate goal is to win as many elections and to gain as many offices as possible.

These parties are also a part of elections, however, they are not mentioned in the constitution. They are made up of a group of people who have common goals, principles, and are seeking to make a political statement in order to influence decision making. They nominate candidates for elected positions. These parties help focus on a variety issues and explain them while also raising awareness. Political parties are meant to bridge the gap that is present among the people and the government. These parties are able to lead the policies of the government elected by the people. They help integrate people in society and political issues. They also function in mobilizing people, especially voters.