Blog Discussion Group Four
Blog post due at 11:55pm on Feb. 12 and comment due at 11:55pm on Feb. 15.
Political Parties and Party Systems
Political Parties and Party Systems
- Is the
- Are political parties an adequate or inadequate vehicle for channeling political opinions and actions? Is it better to be an independent voter rather than one who identifies with a party?
- Are political parties important to the functioning of a democracy?
Interest Groups
- Discuss evidence for and against the proposition: “All political conflicts—including ethnic, religions, gender, and generational conflicts—ultimately boil down to class conflicts. Rich people tend to be politically favored and poor people are not, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, or age.”
- Are interest groups good or bad for politics? Should they be limited somehow?
Question 1: Is the United States dominated by a “power elite”? If so, who constitutes it? If not, are there any groups or individuals who have exceptional influence? Do the masses matter at all? Are perhaps all democracies dominated by some power elite?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Timothy Gill of The Washington Post, "the relationship between corporate elites and political life has deep roots." Corporate leaders have dominated the presidential Cabinet in the past, and many Cabinet members have possessed corporate affiliations. There's been a constant cycle of political and corporate elites going through government and corporate spheres. These groups are the "Power Elite" that rule the US, and they make all the big decisions that all Americans live by. The "Power Elite" are not constituted by word of mouth, but rather they're granted their positions by the US President. Hence, the President has control and influence, and constitutes who becomes a member of his Cabinet and, ultimately, who becomes a "Power Elite".
Under the reign of the "Power Elite", it appears that the masses do not matter at all. The Elite choose what they discuss and what decisions are made--which usually benefit themselves through corporation affiliations. And these individuals are upper-class, which means they do not understand the middle and lower classes, and what those classes need. It appears that the Cabinet's main concerns are for their own personal gain. I believe, however, that there is hope for a TRUE democracy that's not ruled by a "Power Elite". Theoretically, it IS possible. Does it exist? I can't say for certain. But a true democracy CAN exist where the people govern themselves.
Citation: Gill, Timothy. "Why the power elite continues to dominate American politics." The Washington Post, 24 Dec 2018. Web. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/12/24/why-power-elite-continues-dominate-american-politics/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.0196e49072fa.
2. Are political parties an adequate or inadequate vehicle for channeling political opinions and actions? Is it better to be an independent voter rather than one who identifies with a party?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have never voted, nor do I intend to in the foreseeable future due to the workload college has put on me. I can't justify voting for people that I have not researched, and thus cannot vote in any way that aligns fully with my personal morals. In addition, I have watched my parents vote in disagreeable manners. My father is a die-hard Republican, and as such chooses to vote a straight ticket in all elections. My father is also a person who doesn't like to think before he gives his opinion on issues, which is always conveniently aligned with what FOX news told him the morning before. My mother is the opposite: the one time I asked who she voted for in an election, she replied "I just voted for all women." While she doesn't watch traditional news outlets, she does tend to repeat what Trevor Noah and his associates tell her to believe when asked about political issues. Both my father and my mother would tell you that they couldn't be more different, but I see them making the same mistakes. Their identity with parties and anything that would associate with the word "Republican" or "Democrat" has, in my mind, prevented them from thinking critically about the issues at hand. While political parties may not explicitly encourage straight-ticket voting, they are the vehicle by which the action is able to occur. It doesn't stop at my parents, I assure you. According to Sabato's Crystal Ball, straight-ticket voting in the 2016 election reached 100%. This demonstrates a willingness in America to trust politicians at face value, something which I would strongly argue against. While independent voters don't necessarily do much or even more research on politicians prior to voting than the average straight-ticket voter, they are afforded more opportunity to do so than people are now, which is really the most one can hope for in a democracy.
I can't offer a solution that I know will work, but I can offer a different system which I believe could work: Rather than have political parties that encourage group-think rather than individual thought and critique, it might be beneficial to have a party system consisting of a myriad of single-issue parties. Individual voters as well as politicians would be free to associate with any number of parties they so chose, allowing voters to focus on the issues that matter to them, and ignore the issues they do not care about. This could prevent people like my parents from spouting off half-remembered rhetoric from the news station that they've told themselves is right.
Sources:
http://crystalball.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/senate-observations-placing-2018-in-the-context-of-upper-chamber-elections-since-1913/
This is Will, by the way
DeleteAre political parties an adequate or inadequate vehicle for channeling political opinions and actions? Is it better to be an independent voter rather than one who identifies with a party?
ReplyDeleteThis can be answered in a number of ways, because everyone has different interests in politics. Political parties can be very polarized, as we have with our US system today, Left vs Right, constant battle over congress, constant regression because the two sides constant conflict with each other roots are in very ideological differences. The difficulty is that you have to side with the 'lesser of two evils' or just choose the party who has ideas that you agree with more-so than the other. Another complication is that you may vote for one simply because you despise the other. It invites a lot of room for power struggles. It also places a lot on the political table, an entire range of issues or ideas that need be addressed, sometimes so many that not enough gets done. From what I understand of our congress and house of reps, there is a great deal of energy always in opposition. Im recalling the recent CSPAN, maybe 2 weeks ago, where Cruz was being questioned for something, and Michael Bennett of CO spent 20 minutes criticizing Cruz for supporting the shut down, but simultaneously recognizing that federal employees were out of work, "crocodile tears" was the phrase he used. The presence of parties is not harmful, as much as a polarized party system, where the two sides oppose each other so much, the only work that is done is being critical of each other. The presence of parties per-say is important, as long as the elected officials are accurately reflecting the public's' interests and concerns through their legislation.
Are political parties important to the functioning of a democracy?
ReplyDeletePolitical parties are the bridge between the citizens and the government. Political parties give the citizens something to identify as, be represented in, and participate in. Political parties give the government a way to classify citizens, a medium to communicate to them, and a way to work with them. Political parties contribute to a functioning democracy by contesting elections by putting up candidates, shaping public opinion and movements, linking government officers to citizens, and providing policies and programs. For example, in the United States candidates are selected by members and supporters of a party. This unites citizens and sets a direct and healthy communication between the government and citizens. It helps to legitimize a democracy and keep leaders from gaining too much power. In addition, in India the candidates are chosen by top party leaders but the election itself is decided by the citizens. These functions lead to a fair democracy. Political parties are important because without them, every candidate in the election would be an independent candidate. Any individual candidate does not have the efficiency to promise any major policy change to the people. In such a scenario, no one will be responsible for how the country is run. Political parties are the agencies that gather different views on various issues and present them to the government. The government of the Netherlands website states that, “A political party brings together people with the same political ideas. By taking part in an election, parties hope to get as many of their members as possible into a representative body, like parliament or a municipal council.” The definition of a democracy is “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.” This further shows without political parties a democracy would not be a true democracy.
Resources:
MCCORMICK, JOHN. HAGUE, ROD. HARROP, MARTIN. COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS: an Introduction. PALGRAVE, 2019.
“Political Parties: Functions, Importance, Party System, Solved Examples.” Toppr Bytes, Toppr.com, 3 Apr. 2018, www.toppr.com/guides/political-science/political-parties/politics/.
Koninkrijksrelaties, Binnenlandse Zaken en. “The Purpose of Political Parties.” Food | Government.nl, Ministerie Van Algemene Zaken, 3 Sept. 2014, www.government.nl/topics/democracy/the-purpose-of-political-parties.
I can agree that candidates present strong standings and support systems when backed by an entire political party, but I feel as though there are things we're overlooking. Democracies are meant to represent the people, yet political parties DIVIDE the people. And not everyone shares the same views and attitudes as their fellow party members. Independent party members can very well be underrepresented, or not represented at all because races such as for presidency tend to be binary: democratic vs republican. I feel that this very binary causes the US to fail to represent its people under a constitutionalized democracy. One party views the other as lesser and wrong, which influences the individuals within that party to look upon the other as less than human. We forget that we all want what's best for the US and its citizens because we get too caught up in this binary.
DeleteCitation: Manning, Corin. "Imagine A World Without Political Parties: Does your political party cloud your rational thinking?" Odyssey, 12 Dec 2016. Web. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/world-of-equity.
Question 3 Are political parties important to the functioning of a democracy?
ReplyDeletePolitical parties are useful for citizens because it allows them to figure out which candidates they more closely align with. Parties also allow for a platform in which discussion can be cultivated in order to further ideas and polish ones positions on certain issues. The problem comes when there are not enough parties to represent a large enough diversity of ideas. We see this in the American system with Democrats and Republicans. Instead of furthering ideas and weeding bad ideas out it turns into a shouting match and character attacks from both sides. Also, there are candidates that end up having to align their ideas with a particular party simply because if they do not join a party the likelihood of them getting into office is very slim. Two parties are not fully able to represent the amount of ideas that are contained in them. This leads to both the Democratic and republican parties to contain both rather centrist politicians as well as very radical politicians that some within their own party would not agree with. Over all the party system fulfills a very important role in Democratic systems, but like any other kinds of parties its preferable that there are plenty to go around.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/12/7-things-to-know-about-polarization-in-america/
Tommy, this is a great post. The description an analysis of political parties that you provided was superb. Political parties are important to a functioning democracy. Looking forward to your next post.
Deletecomment by Robert Ellis
I agree that political parties are useful and that they are useful because they are allow people to figure out the candidates they want in office. I believe tat you bring up a good point by saying that there are aren't enough parties for all of the different ways that people wish to express themselves. and although parties allow people to have a voice the idea of only two major parties is limiting
DeleteAre political parties important to the functioning of a democracy
ReplyDeletePolitical parties are important for the function of democracy, they bring together people with the same political ideology. Political parties are able to help leaders reach the goals that the followers of the party want. Aside from this they are working in a way to limit the power of the government like counterweights. The parties both restrain the government from acting in a hurtful way while constraining it to act beneficial for their needs. Political parties also play different roles in different democratic systems. For example in a genuine democracy they are very important in preserving the idea of democracy. The word democracy means self rule or rule of the people so the idea of political parties is essential when trying to keep up the basic idea of democracy. The political parties should allowed to operate freely for the needs of the people.
An example where political parties are not used properly is in a one party regime. In a one party regime there is one group that is exclusively benefiting from the decisions of the government. This type of regime is usually associated with a communist or fascist regime. There is a group of people or the one party that are willing to develop the non-democratic rule. They are giving information back to the leadership rather than acting for the country. It mobilizes the non-democratic ruler’s power where it appears to be a situation where there is some sort of exhibition where it appears that the ruler has many widespread supporters but they are just the party members helping push the leader’s agenda. Political parties help keep up the basic idea of democracy b giving the people a voice and are therefore incredibly important to the function of a democracy.
“Nondemocratic Regimes.” Essentials of Comparative Politics, by Patrick H. O'Neil, W.W. Norton & Company, 2018, pp. 175–205.
Koninkrijksrelaties, Binnenlandse Zaken en. “The Purpose of Political Parties.” Food | Government.nl, Ministerie Van Algemene Zaken, 3 Sept. 2014, www.government.nl/topics/democracy/the-purpose-of-political-parties.
Polin, Raymond. “The Role of The American Political Party System | Raymond Polin.” FEE, Foundation for Economic Education, 1 May 1984, fee.org/articles/the-role-of-the-american-political-party-system/.
I agree that political parties are important to the fuctioning of a democracy. As I mentioned, they are a theoretical bridge (in some cases, like info-structure, literal) from the government to its citizens. Political parties are the embodiment of shared principles, goals, and policy positions among a certain subset of citizens. I think it's also important to recognize the diversity of political parties. It is important for citizens to have many options as to keep division of power equal, as intended in a democracy. The size of the population doesn't constrict the number of political parties avalible. For example, in Luxembourg, a tiny European nation of just 500,000 people, there are 6 parties.
DeleteThere are also arguements against political parties, such as many feel that in order to participate in the political process, they must “join a party”. To argue against this, if no political party represents your views, one may always start a new party. The point you make about the fact political parties giving the people a voice is continuous.
Gripp, Andrew, and Georgetown University. “Why We Need Political Parties, and More of Them.” IVN.us, 18 Mar. 2015, ivn.us/2015/03/18/we-need-political-parties/.
Committee Office, and House of Commons. House of Commons - Global Security: UK-US Relations - Foreign Affairs Committee, Published by Authority of the House of Lords, publications.parliament.uk/pa/spconf/239/23907.htm.
question 1- Is the United States dominated by a “power elite”? If so, who constitutes it? If not, are there any groups or individuals who have exceptional influence? Do the masses matter at all? Are perhaps all democracies dominated by some power elite?
ReplyDeleteThe United States is dominated by a "power elite." Amand Giridharadas in an article on The New York Times says, "But in the United States — where a competitive political campaign requires huge sums of money, and wealth or access to it is increasingly a prerequisite for entry — the debate has become supercharged." In some countries, the political aspect is dominated by a family or religion. In the United States, it is dominated by the rich. The top companies and individuals with the most money have the influence within the political realm of U.S. The masses do matter inn a small aspect as we are a democracy, but money plays in the background
Giridharadas, Amand. “How Wealth Plays Into Politics at a Personal Level.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/us/politics/how-wealth-plays-into-politics-at-a-personal-level.html.
this unknown is Robert Ellis
DeleteVery thought provoking entry, Robert. I love the quote you brought to the table and how you expounded upon the quote to give us some context and meaning. Very clear and concise answer to the question. I'm excited to see what you come up with next week!
Delete5. Are interest groups good or bad for politics? Should they be limited somehow?
ReplyDeleteI believe that interest groups can be both good and bad for politics. In many ways, interest groups can be utilized to advocate for a particular group of people with specific common values or in some cases, specific identities. These interest groups can include subjects such as the ACLU and NAACP. However, some interest groups can have much more power and influence than others, and in some cases, can become corrupt. I believe that at the point of corruption is when interest groups become inherently bad.
An example of a corrupt interest group like this would be ALEC, a corporate interest group responsible for writing the controversial Stand Your Ground law. I believe that in situations such as these, is when interest groups should be limited. For example, if one special interest group is much more powerful than another such as, an interest group who has already accomplished most if not all of their goals or has firmly established themselves to a point where all they really have to be concerned about is maintaining their position. For interest groups such as these, I believe it would be best to limit them. Obviously, they have already reached their peak so it would only make sense to allow for other more struggling interest groups to have a chance at gaining influence within the governmental system.
DuVernay, Ava. 13th. Netflix Official Site, Netflix, 2016, www.netflix.com/watch/80091741?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2Caa2d8d6cbee4d8603e54b8476c3f09c2d426d080%3Ab7150a595414132bc2c2c923f80bf797109d5c15%2C%2C.
I agree with you that interests groups can be both good or bad for politics. I think that the system in place allows for big, resourceful interest groups to have a greater say than an interest group that has less resources. That being the case, unfortunately there are a lot of these big, resourceful interest groups that have agendas that do not seem to aline with the wants/needs of the majority population. That being said, I definitely still do believe that there are interest groups that do have the the best interest of the people in mind such as the ones you have mentioned. Like you also said, I think that if anything there should be some regulation of some kind to help level the playing field when it comes to lobbying for policy. Maybe reducing how active in political campaigns interest groups can be could be one idea to consider or limiting the reach any interest groups into politics so that elections are not ran on the funding of an interest groups and their agenda.
DeleteWhatever the solution may be, I agree with you that there are good things and bad things about interest groups and lobbying. Thanks for your insight!
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/5c.asp
Beshevkin, Sylvia "Interest Groups and Social Movements"
5. Are interest groups good or bad for politics? Should they be limited somehow?
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to policy and legislation, interest groups have a massive influence in politics. I think that interest groups can be good and can also be bad for politics, given the right regulation and circumstances.
We in the U.S. subscribe to the division of interest groups called group pluralism. This is a type of interest groups that lobby in an open political environment for policy and legislation. I think this type of interest group in this country has a lot of negative outcomes. The problem, in my opinion, is not the idea of interest groups themselves, but what lobbying by these groups has turned into. The biggest issue with our way of lobbying is that the most successful groups are the groups that have the most resources and money. What is happening is that big majority interest groups are able to get policies they want which may not necessarily reflect the interest of the population, because they are able to provide funding to political campaigns to leaders in return for passing legislation that holds these big group's interest. So in a since, corporations and big industries are "buying" policy in return for political favors. This type of system I feel is broken and the lobbying by these groups has caused unrest in the population, such as tax breaks for large corporations. In the article "Interest Groups and Social Movements" Bashevkin talks about how "business groups retain a privileged position in that their claims are more likely to be heard" because they have more resources to offer as influence for their voice to be heard (10) This leads to decision makers favoring these types of interest groups. In these types of groups and systems, I do believe some type of regulation could possibly be imposed to eliminate this from happening. What that would look like though, I am not sure.
I do also believe that good can come from interest groups when they are able to be heard despite resources, especially in a democratic corporatism political environment. When these groups that do have the best interest of the population at heart and are heard, I believe good can come from these groups as well.
Beshevkin, Sylvia "Interest Groups and Social Movements"
While it is important to keep in mind that there exist many interest groups that represent the desires of corporations, it is equally important to keep in mind that there are various other interest groups that both possess tremendous political sway as well as (at least claim to) represent the interests and concerns of citizens, such as the AARP, the NAACP, the National Urban League, etc. If one is to act out against corporate lobbyists and their interests, one must consider first what good could be undone by such action, and minimize this injustice.
DeleteQuestion 3 . Political parties are extremely important to democracy because it gives freedom of speech a bigger stage to be exploding on you can’t just have one political party because then therefore it wouldn’t be a democracy everyone could vote for the same thing but with separate parties has different ideas and allows people to express their political believes in different ways a separation from others
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