Breaking Up Is Hard: America’s Love Affair with the Two-Party System

When George Washington took office in 1789, he opposed all ideas about having defined political parties. He even made a statement condemning the development of highly partisan politics, citing it as a distraction from the ultimate goal of serving the American people. John Adams, Washington’s successor, similarly aversed established political parties, as described in a letter to Jonathan Jackson, claiming, “a division of the republic into two great parties…is to be dreaded as the great political evil.” However, the Founding Fathers inevitably took sides on key issues plaguing the young nation, and the first political parties grew from these differences. The political parties we see today have since changed radically.  

Today, America is incredibly divided. There are two irreconcilable teams: the Democrats seeing themselves as representing the multicultural values of the cosmopolitan cities and the Republicans seeing themselves as representing the Christian values of the traditionalist and rural countryside. 

But those two groups can not possibly represent every voter in America. There are many individuals and groups that do not slot neatly into one of these two parties and have no other place to go. Does this mean our government is not accurately serving and representing the people, which was the founding goal of this country? Ultimately, we must ask, is the two-party system the most effective way to participate in modern American politics?

The two-party system has both disadvantages and advantages. It has an historical precedence of functioning well in the American version of a democratic republic, but is unfair and narrow-minded.

The two-party system is beneficial to American voters because it simplifies politics by providing distinct and broad political platforms. Although a two-party system does limit the options voters have, it allows parties to present information in a convenient manner. Each party is able to represent its own broad political philosophy. As such, voters can better understand the views of a party regarding certain issues. This allows American voters to choose the side that best suits their beliefs based on the general beliefs of each distinct party. 

Another benefit is it promotes political stability in an effective manner. Having only two parties discourages sudden shifts in political trends that leads to government instability. Only with political stability, can economic growth be achieved. A two-party system allows one political party to gain a real majority in elections. This allows for stability because they have a common platform to adhere to. As a result, there is decisiveness in government. 

However, the two overarching and distinct parties may be too broad for many individuals, making it difficult to confidently support one party. Can personal beliefs be accurately defined in such a binary way?

It must be acknowledged that the two-party system is unfair and narrow-minded. It does not offer sufficient room for new ideas or independent candidates. This is because it stems from the superior amount of funding Democrats and Republicans provide for their candidates. Individuals, such as Donald Trump and Joe Biden, are backed by major parties, which include wealthy members. Other individuals running independent of the two major parties lack the funds to market themselves, resulting in less exposure to the public solely because they do not have the funds necessary to compete with the multi-million dollar major party campaigns. Therefore, a very qualified and independent politician may be overlooked, which could prevent the political system from reaching its maximum potential.

Moreover, trends in America show having a two-party system is quite disruptive because of the detrimental divide it causes between the two parties. Given these two parties stand on relatively opposite ends of the spectrum on virtually every issue, everyone who affiliates with a specific party is directly opposed to the other party’s ideologies. As a result, the division harms American people because it often results in a lack of timely action to resolve pressing issues in the Senate or Congress.  

There is no clear answer to whether or not the two-party system is the most effective way to participate in modern American politics. 

There are arguments for and against it. It is Constitutional and it simplifies and stabilizes American politics, but causes American voters to think in an exclusive and binary way. And the political structure can cause intense polarization resulting in harm to America.