Presently, there are three theories that have been posed to explain the American political process. They are, elite theory, hyperpluralism, and pluralism. While all of them have sufficient evidence in regard to discussion and debate, pluralism undoubtedly best explains the American political process. Pluralism states that our democracy is best achieved by the existence and cooperation between various groups, and individuals, which participate in government by means of election. In context of American politics, pluralism is the core which our political process revolves around. Pluralism has been historically important, in regards to religion, and American society. This has held true since the American colonies liberated themselves from
Pluralism paints a really blushing picture of how intrigue gatherings work in American legislative issues. One approach that is to some extent propelled by the issue of vote based citizenship yet which endeavors to save a few components of uniformity against the elitist feedback is the vested party pluralist record of governmental issues. Initial articulation of the perspective is intense. In this origination of the popularity based procedure, every resident is an individual from a vested party with barely characterized intrigues that are firmly associated with their regular lives. On these subjects nationals should be great educated and inspired by having an impact. Or if nothing else, elites from each of the vested parties that are moderately
Pluralism is a state in which racial and ethnic categories, though distinct, have equal social standing. (Macionis, 2012 pg.84) So in stating what it is we are looking to foster gives us a better idea of what to expect if we do foster a climate of acceptance and cultural pluralism in the United States. Though to get there we need to teach, I mean really teach each other and about one another in every way form what we eat to how we celebrate traditions. We need to get everyone involved as much as possible, which means in schools, jobs, and community. By doing all of this we will have a better understanding of one another which well level out the minorities with the majorities and make acceptance easier all around.
In the United States, pluralism is pertinent and very significant for the government because the government itself is distributed with various powers given to the states. These states then give powers to their local governments, which continues to distribute the power. In the government system, there are levels of that consist of branches that control the many different parts of the system, so that no one person or group is given too much power. The United States has a system of checks and balances, which is pertinent to the power system and the pluralist theory ("What is a pluralist theory of government?" 2017).
Many politicians argue that there is a need for institutional reform in the United States—the sole purpose of such reform should be to develop a more efficient system for the state as a whole. However, others argue that there are existing institutions in the United States that are structured efficiently. In order to help determine where an individual will stand on the debate about institutional reform, one must compare the effects of different forms of political institutions with the existing form in the United States. There are three new proposals of reform to discuss for the United States: 1) change in the electoral system for the House of Representatives, 2) change in the executive structure
With each having a hold or at least an influence on a specific type of policies. Majoritarianism in the sense that people have the control over who they elect as their representatives or president. Another example could be the ballots measures and referendums where the side with most votes wins. The pluralism side of the American democracy manifested itself lately when couples of same sex groups won their rights to get married, after years pushing for equal rights and advocating until getting their case approved by the supreme court, Last but not least, the elite theory part of the America democracy has been gaining ground for decades until its influence is mostly seen in economic policies, where big corporations and the rich are getting their voice well heard throughout the states legislatures. A study published in September of 2014, conducted by Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page, concluded that rich people had much bigger influence on policy decisions compared to the rest of the population. One of today’s example could be the tax code written in a way that allows the rich to use legal loopholes to pay little to nothing on their taxes. Another present example is the probable passage of the trans pacific partnership that would not benefit the common citizen, even with overwhelming disapproval from the
Pluralist theory views politics and decision making as a competitive phenomenon where different groups and individuals have different views and that there is no single elite group that exercises influence (Davis & Go, 2009). The theory holds that power is relatively broadly distributed among different interest groups. These groups hold different views of the same aspect and compete with each other for
The United States government is commonly referred to as a “Duopoly”, which means that there are two established political parties, Democratic and Republic, and that these two parties share the vast majority of the political power in the country. This is because the United States follows a winner-takes-all voting system, utilizing a “single-member district plurality”. The “single-member district” portion means that for each geographic area or district, there is only one elected official, and the “plurality” portion means that in United States elections, the representative or politician who receives the most number of votes, wins the given election, even if it’s less than half the percentage of votes. According to Duverger’s law, a Political Science principle, plurality voting procedures correlationally support the emergence of only two political parties, in contrast to a multiparty democracy.
In the United States, public policy is shaped by multiple factors, from average citizens voices in elections to interest groups and organizations. In their study, “Testing theories of American politics”, scholars Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens explore the impact of average citizens, the economic elite and interest groups have on the passage of public policy. Additionally through their, Page and Gilens(2014) have found “that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence” (Pg 535). This means that when it comes to the creation of public policies, rich people and groups
The United States has a system based on the principles of equality, majority rule and the preservation of minority rights. It is the oldest remaining democracy and has the oldest written constitution in the world today. Not only that, but it also is one of the first systems to embrace the idea of popular sovereignty. When researching this case in comparative politics, one of the overall themes was that political competition occurs consistently in the United States. Examples include federalism and the separation of powers, which allows voters in the United States to go to the polls far more than compared to other democracies. It can also be seen through the separate party system that causes division between groups, hence the competition. Another idea revealed in the case is that
The political system in the United States of America is not comprised of a singular ideology. The discussion stands that the American government hosts both pluralism and elitism, but neither in full completion or dominance. The American government is comprised neither fully of pluralism nor elitism, but rather plural-elitism; an intertwinement of the two. This essay will discuss pluralism, elitism, plural-elitism, and why American government is a mixture of these concepts.
The first element of government that halts progress in America is the hyperpluralist theory, an extension of the pluralist theory. Edwards, Lineberry and Wattenberg state that “According to pluralist theory, because of open access to various institutions of government and public officials, organized groups can compete with one another for control over policy and no one group or set of groups dominates” (16). Basically, the pluralist theory states that for every group, there exists another group with opposing views or goals and they help serve each other through compromise. The hyperpluralist theory, on the other hand, argues that these different groups can counteract each other, diminishing any progress that the other group achieved. Without power over the others, a group cannot push its agenda without the opposing group pushing its own agenda to set that group back. A positive aspect of this theory is that it prevents one group from dominating; however, it discourages any changes from happening in government. Edwards, Lineberry, and Wattenberg
1.Analyze the evolution of the American political system. Be sure to include one individual or document that influenced the Constitution and one change in the federal system.
Politics is an integral part of our society, and in order for the citizens of any society, or a county to protect their rights and interest, electing the right people, and right theories are necessary. When it comes to government, Elitism and Pluralism are two systems which can be used as a structure of how the powers will be distributed. While the theory of Elitism prefers the distribution of power to be based on wealth, ancestry and intellect; Pluralism theory is much more diverse in the distribution of power, as it ensures equality for everyone, regardless of any differences. Pluralism serves as the model of modern western democracy. In the case of Baltimore, the pluralist theory is much more efficient due to its views on authority, rights
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).
The American Political System The American political system is a federal system, which consists of