Would The Political Process In America Be Better Without Political Parties - Essay Example

Would The Political Process In America Be Better Without Political Parties? Introduction USA has one of themost complicated and complex politics in the world. The country’s politics attract the global attention especially every time elections are being held because of the impact that the country’s politics make to the local and the global economy. Crucial decisions concerning the welfare of the country, the citizens and the world in general are made by the government that is elected through a democratic process with the Democrats Party and the Republican Party being in dominance of the country’s politics for over a century. USA enjoys a number of benefits as a result of having a political party system, a factor that has made it a global icon whereby other countries emulate its system. However, the country is faced by a number of political challenges since most of its crucial decisions are made by politicians, a factor that may at times lead to a tag of war between the party in power and the opposition (Barrington 87). This raises the question of whether the political process in America would be better without political parties or not. In order to effectively answer this question, this essay will analyze the benefits as well as the shortcomings of having a political party system in USA. A political party is defined as a group of people who share common ideals and goals, hence working together in order to ensure that politicians of their choice are elected into offices so as to represent them. Political parties in most democratic countries work extra harder in order to ensure that they have the right number in the political offices in order for them to be able to control the government. Since the conception of the political system in America, there have been numerous political parties in the country such as the Federalists and Anti-Federalists parties’ as well as the Republican and the Democrats Parties (Brox 47). Currently, there are two political parties in USA namely the Republican Party and the Democrats Party whose history can be traced back from the 1800s. In 1812, the American constitution was ratified thus bringing the error of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists parties to an end. This prompted the formation of the Democratic Republicans party that was led by Thomas Jefferson (Bibby and Schaffner 125). Later on, the party started splitting over some issues whereby some people supported Andrew Jacksons policies hence forming the current Democrats Party, while on the hand people who were against his policies formed the Whig Party. However, the Whig Party later ended because of controversies that were relating it to slavery. This prompted to the formation of the current Republican Party thus making the number of political parties in the country two up to date. Political parties do serve numerous purposes besides them being associated with triggering various arguments. They give room for the definition of potential voters’ positions and beliefs on crucial elements, a factor that makes them use their strength of numbers to have candidates who share similar ideologies as theirs get elected into office. As a matter of fact, political parties serve a similar purpose in the political environment as sects or denominations serve in the religious sphere. They give room for democracy whereby different people live harmoniously despite them having different ideologies and opinions (Schmidt and Ford 163). Liberal citizens believe that the national government is obliged to providing essential services to the citizens while on the other hand the conservatives believe that a smaller national government should let the private sector help in providing such services. This difference in opinion raises the need for having at least two political parties so as to accommodate the general opinions of the citizens (Watts 106). Political parties also help in defining positions and issues which align with their broad stroke liberal or conservative leanings. A good example is the different stances that were taken by the Democrats and the Republicans over the contentious issue of abortion rights. The Republicans’ stance was and is still pro-life while Democrats on the other hand believed that women should be given a right to make decisions concerning their health. In such a situation, the existence of many political parties gives room for individual voters to associate themselves with the parties they share a similar opinion. Another major benefit of having political parties in the United States among other countries is the element of representation. USA is a representative republic and not necessarily a true democratic country. Existence of political parties makes the process of electing the most qualified persons for the country’s leadership much more effective and easy. Political parties seek out the most qualified candidates whom they believe to posses relevant skills so as to represent their parties’ platform while serving their term. It would be a nightmare to have a political process that does not have political parties thus requiring citizens to elect independent candidates who show interest for the country’s leadership especially for the highly populated countries like USA with a population of 300 million people. Political parties are formed in attempt to bring order in elections and governing (Chrysochoos 96). Managing congress would be a very difficult task if there are no political parties in USA. Presence of political parties gives room for organization of various Congress members into groups thus preventing eruption of chaos in the house. Moreover, in the electoral terms, presence of political parties gives the citizens a concise way of identifying candidates who are likely to disagree or agree with them. It makes the process of understanding the various candidates easy and effective since people tend to assume that candidates vying for political seats are in full agreement with the policies and ideologies stipulated in the various parties’ manifestos that have given them tickets. This might not be the case since a candidate may partially be disagreeing with his or her party’s ideologies though individuals aligning themselves with particular parties must be in support of a greater percentage of their policies and ideologies. If there are no political parties, it would mean that citizens have to learn and understand every single candidate running for office, a task that is likely to be tedious and ineffective (Wright 74). Other advantages of having political parties system in America include the aspects of providing changes in the government without violence, preventing monopoly of the ruling authority as well as giving the citizens a sense of participation in choosing their government. The opinion of the majority party is believed to be the general opinion of the citizens thus changes being done according to their will without causing any political violence (Watts 106). Minorities have to agree with the views of the majority as it is believed to be the voice of the citizens in most democratic countries. Moreover, having political parties eliminates monopoly of the ruling authority as fresh and people of various backgrounds get an opportunity to market their ideologies. A good example of this benefit of having political parties is the election of President Barrack Osama who was from a humble background and might have not been elected if at all he had contested as an independent candidate. Nonetheless, there are a number of demerits that exist in a political party system despite the system having numerous benefits. Some scholars argue that having a political process that does not involve political parties would be more advantageous than the current one. One of the key aspects they focus on is the issue of making Congressional elections much more local. Political parties pump millions of money into the local races to a point that persons who are elected into offices qualify on basis of their personal or party’s wealth rather than on basis of individual qualifications and ideologies (Disch 52). The influence of wealthy tycoons over America’s politics would significantly be diminished if there are no political parties in the country’s political process. Those arguing that political parties should not exist claim that elections in USA are influenced by a few wealthy individuals who buy off political parties by writing a few million checks. This ends up making the country have a poor leadership since the people in the public offices are elected on basis of their wealth, and not qualification. Another major demerit of the current political system in the country is the criterion used in allocation of the Congressional committee tasks. If there would be no political parties in USA, Congressional committee tasks would not be handed out on basis of unreasonable criterion such as party seniority and loyalty. Instead, Congress houses would individually meet and vote as whole groups rather than as parties as it is currently done. This would ensure that the leadership of the body is effective and the most appropriate and that committee assignments are undertaken in the most appropriate way possible. A political system that does not have political parties would also completely eliminate the designations of minority and majority hence creating a much better climate for compromise. The level of involvement of the American public in the electoral process is another key issue that many people use to oppose the current political party system in the country. Having a political system that does not have political parties would increase the level of involvement of the American public in the electoral process, rather than simply showing up on the election’s day in support of political parties of their choice. Under the current political system, citizens only show up on the election’s day and pull a lever for the parties they have always supported. Moreover, without political parties, there would be a more peaceful society whereby the media does not market its news in favor of one side of the isle. With the current political system, media engages itself in a lot of politics all through in favor of the party in government or the opposition. Having a political process that does not involve political parties may also be of much benefit with regard to the element of opinion polls. In every now and then, there are opinion polls that are published in attempt to explain how the Democrats and Republicans are viewing different issues facing the country. This is absolutely irrelevant since what matters most is how the Americans view issues facing the country, not what Democrats of Republicans think. The system of political parties is also blamed for the rampant corruption that plagues in the America’s system and the polarization that complicates the process of having crucial decisions made (Herrnson and Green 85). However, eliminating the political party system may not fully solve the current America’s political problems though it can be termed as a key milestone in that direction. In conclusion, some of the key benefits of a political party system of governance that have been pin pointed out in this essay include the element of making the electoral process easy as people tend to understand the various contestants much more. Other benefits include the aspect of representation as political parties elect candidates to represent the party members during the elections. This makes the whole process easy and effective especially for a highly populated country like USA, rather than having so many independent candidates vying. Moreover, managing congress would be a very difficult task if there are no political parties in USA. Presence of political parties gives room for organization of various Congress members into groups thus preventing eruption of chaos in the house. Having a political party system on the other hand is associated with a number of demerits like the aspect of opinion polls which spends a lot of money as they try to explain how the Democrats and Republicans are viewing different issues facing the country, rather than focusing on the vital issues impacting the country irrespective of the different political stances the citizens might be having. Finally, political party system is often blamed by many people because of the rampant corruption that plagues in the America’s system as well as the polarization that complicates the process of having crucial decisions made. Therefore, the question of whether the America’s political process would be better without political parties can be answered with a negative answer especially after considering the numerous advantages that have been discussed in this essay. I personally believe that having a political party system is the most effective and efficient way governing a country. The benefits of a political party system highly outweigh its demerits and therefore political parties should not be abolished. Works Cited Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Barrington, Lowell. “Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices.” 2012. Print. Bibby John, and Schaffner Brian. “Politics, Parties, and Elections in America.” Boston, MA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. Print. Brox, Brian. “Back in the Game: Political Party Campaigning in an Era of Reform.” Albany: State University of New York Press, 2013. Internet resource. Chrysochoos, John. “In Reason We Trust”. Pittsburgh, Pa: RoseDog Books, 2009. Print. Disch, Lisa. “The Tyranny of the Two-Party System.” New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. Internet resource. Herrnson, Paul, and Green John. “Multiparty Politics in America: Prospects and Performance.” Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. Print. Schmidt, Steffen and Ford Lynne. “American Government and Politics Today.” Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Watts, Duncan. “Understanding Us: A Comparative Guide.” Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004. Print. Wright, David. “The American Three-Party System: Hidden in Plain Sight.” Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2012. Internet resource. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More