Two Party System

593 Words3 Pages

How the Two Party System is Destroying American Politics After George Washington’s two terms, the two party system was created, the Federalists and Republicans. Over the history of the United states, the party’s have fractured and changed, but two general parties have consistently remained in power. In the modern era, the party politics is more relevant than ever. From a very early age, “most children learn…to think of themselves as either democrat or republican” (Schmidt, et al, 2015, p.163). This mindset, which continues into adulthood, is encouraged by the parties themselves. Many political disagreements are “based on an argument between two opposing points of view, advocates of each viewpoint can mobilize most effectively by forming a single unified party”, which intern strengthens the two party system (Schmidt, et al., 2015, p.163). …show more content…

The main criticism that “the current two-party system gives too much power to the extremists in each party” (Wheelan, 2013, para. 2). When people are chosen by the party to run, in many cases they represent the extremist views held and become the mascot for the party. The current system is skewed so moderates, the people some say are essential to politics, are not chosen because they do not represent the party strongly enough. These extremist candidates help to discourage education of the intricacies of individual issues because voters are forced into accepting how the party views the issue, due to either voting due to the candidate 's party affiliation, or being forced into choosing the extremist that comes closest to their own personal beliefs. Finally, by limiting voting to two extremist choices allows the private entities that are the republican and democratic parties to control American politics based on their party views and not the views of the American