Pros And Cons Of The Two-Party Electoral System

In recent discussion of Democrats and Republican parties, a controversial issue has been whether or not the U.S. should expand their options from more than a two party system. On the one hand, some argue that there should be more choices other than between the two Democrat Party and Republican Party. From this perspective, voters have more of a variety when they vote. On the other hand, some argue that the U.S. should remain as a two party system. In the words of Gary Johnson, one of this view’s main proponents, “The Republicans and Democrats have spent decades trading power back and forth between themselves, and in doing so, have managed to install a two-party duopoly that completely controls America’s political process.” According to this view, Democrats and Republicans are dictating other parties opportunities to get elected. In sum, then, the issue is whether there should be other options rather than a choice between the Democrat and the Republican Party. I agree with Gary Johnson’s view that the Democrat and Republican Parties are controlling America’s

A two party system is strong and influential although it allows lesser parties to exist and have an influence. As a result a majority party will form the government and the minority party will form the opposition, and coalitions of the lesser parties are possible. These systems can also be multi-party systems. The Two-party sytem has advantages and disadvantages they consist of: Advantages,: It can lead to political stability which leads, in turn, to economic growth, two-party systems have been seen as preferable to multi-party systems because they are simple to govern, while multi-party systems can sometimes lead to parliament. The disadvantages: Two-party systems have been criticized extreme views, and putting a second opinion on debate within a nation, two-party systems for fail to provide enough options since only two choices are permitted on the ballot, the problem with having only two parties is that the nation loses "the ability for things to bubble up from the body politic and give voice to things that aren’t being voiced by the major parties." Multi-party governments permit wider and more diverse viewpoints in government, and encourage dominant parties to make deals with weaker parties to form winning coalitions. I think having a two-party system is ideal because neither major party is strong enough to win without bringing up specific topics that they believe in or their ideology of their party. The way the Republicans and Democrats present

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.

In 1789, the U.S. did not have a two-party system. The two-party system is rooted in the beginnings of the nation itself. The Framers of the Constitution were opposed to political parties. The ratification of the Constitution saw the birth of America's first two parties: the federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the Anti-Federalists, who followed Thomas Jefferson. The nation had only had George Washington, who was President without a party at that time. During George Washington’s two terms, a conflict developed between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who were both Federalists men. Jefferson challenged Adams under the umbrella of the Democratic - Republican Party. In addition, the Democratic - Republican Party was the first real party that contained the formal beginnings of the present day two-party system. The word Democratic infers to “will of the people”, the word Republican infers to “rule of law” which is defense from possible oppression of the majority. In short, the American party system began as a two-party system. In this essay I will be discussing the why America needs a two-party system, why a multi-system may work for the nation and the conflicts, and how does this political system contributes to the nation and why a two-system is worth the struggle.

The two-party system needs to be changed or completely abolished, because it offers limited ideas and opinions to run the country. The two parties have their own perspectives on issues such as gun control or abortion; Craig Goodman of the University of Houston claims he“doesn’t think it’s very democratic. Why should you exclude someone because they are a small number, and they don’t get to express themselves?” (Cargo 1). The two-party does not allow the middle ground or smaller parties to really have a say (Mathias 4).  Most voters only know the leading independent and the two party nominees. Kate Cargo describes “the two-party system leaves voter with low-quality ideas and frankly, low-quality candidates” (Cargo 1) while the third party candidate could have a great compromise on a hot issue, it will never see the light of day. While the two-party system does allow people to have easy access to the opinions of the parties on these issues, it does not make up for the limited options we have. As a country we need to have as many options as possible even if they are extreme. Accessibility is important, but it should never limit our options.

John Adams, one of the founding fathers, wrote that “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution” (“Quote by John Adams”). The Two-Party system has been around since the start of America. The Two-Party system is a system that has two parties that the government, or America in this case, has that lead the government or America. At the current time, the two parties are the Republican and Democrat parties. It was created with the idea that everyone can be represented within either of the parties. Even though it does create some representation of the people, the two-party system does not create an equal policy in society because it does not allow people to get far if they are not within either of the two parties, does not allow the idea of having more than two parties, and because it doesn't represent everyone.

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

A political two party system is one where two parties have complete dominance over voting, in terms of seats and the general vote. The multi- party system however describes a system where more than two parties have the ability to win role as government. In this essay I will give a balanced argument on whether Britain is a two party, or multi- party system.

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

The two-party system is said to promote governmental stability because a single party can win a majority of political offices and, with less bickering between differing and partisan legislators, govern more efficiently. In a multiparty country, on the other hand, the formation of a government depends on the maintenance of a coalition of parties with enough total strength to form a political majority. The weakness of the ties that bind the coalition may threaten the continuance of a cabinet in power. The stability shown by the government of the United States has not been entirely due to its party system, it has been argued, but has been promoted also by the fixed tenure and strong constitutional position of the president, as well as checks and balances built into the constitution to prevent one branch of federal government from becoming too powerful.

Although America has long been a bipartisan government, it would be more beneficial to move to an open multi-party system to give Americans more choice in its elections, and more political diversity. Third-party running candidates in America are always a possibility, but are majorly overshadowed by the already well established Democratic and Republican party candidates. Many Americans would prefer an alternative to our current system, but are either bullied into conforming to it, or are convinced that third-party is a waste of a vote. One of the main reasons we stick to either Republicans or Democrats is because it is familiar and we oppose change. The two-party system is not the best system for America and could be improved upon greatly..

Have you ever considered the American government is corrupt, even though they claim to uphold certain American values? The two-party system is just that: corrupt. Right now, the government offers two parties, and even though it has its benefits, it has a lot more weaknesses. Although the two-party system offers stability and accessibility for citizens, it is broken and needs to be drastically changed for the government to be actually of the people, by the people, for the people.

The Constitution has nothing to say about political parties. Nowhere does it define political parties or explicitly specify that there should be two dominant parties. Nevertheless, America has had a strong two party system for last 150 years, a degree of party stability and endurance that can be found in no other nation (Landy and Milkis, 451). This system of two dominant parties has both its advantages and its drawbacks, the same as any system will. The two strong parties simplify and stabilize American politics from both the citizens’ and the politicians’ point of view and allow for government to be unified across the separation of powers built into the Constitution

One major disadvantage of instituting a party government is the likelihood that it would further increase conflict in American politics. Many Americans have bipartisan beliefs, such as being fiscally conservative, while also being socially liberal. Legislators would be bound to stringently follow their party’s policy positions, and therefore may not be entirely able to represent their constituency. Thus, it is believed that smaller parties would eventually grow larger and further fragment the atmosphere of American politics in an effort to satisfy the different ideologies of the American

According to Downs (1957), the partisanship is correlated to multiple factors associated with the public, approach to a multi-party system, and ideologies of both the people and the parties that act as politicians conduits to elected offices. Downs’ (1957) first stipulation have to have a great degree of agreement in their consensus if a two party system is to succeed, which means that a two party system is dependent on people agreeing on what they want, and those parties have to pick on the aspects they use in their policies. In agreement with the Downsian interpretation, it is clear that, since a representative government involves representation of the needs, perceptions and expectations of the populous, a two party system is most stable in cases where people agree on most things, and parties only have to identify the aspects of the agreements to include in their policies. In cases where people are diverse in their political ideologies, more than two parties are necessary to reflect the perspectives of these extra groups, and a two-party system would be insufficient. Another stipulation of the Downsian interpretation is that two party systems result in increased similarities between the parties while systems with more than two parties result in increased diversity (Downs, 1957). In this case, it is