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Not a comment on to the ban, but trying to gain perspective on the overall heated environment. I wonder, if there are more than 2 political parties representing

Not a comment on to the ban, but trying to gain perspective on the overall heated environment. I wonder, if there are more than 2 political parties representing different view points in Congress will that help in decreasing polarization?

lovecg 6y ago
The argument has been beaten to death so I’m probably not saying anything new to most people here, but two parties is the only stable configuration. In a first-past-the-post system, the smaller parties after the first two will be very quickly eliminated or consolidated (this includes the limiting case of no parties, where everyone is a party of one). On the other hand, if you have one large party it will eventually splinter due to internal discord and a lack of a common enemy. There have been brief periods in time when there were more than two significant parties in the US. Just after the constitution was written is one — it didn’t take long for parties to be established. Another example was the time period around when the Whig party disintegrated and the Republican party was established. There was the moment in that fallout in 1856 when the Know Nothing party got a few electoral votes, on a platform that is a direct ideological ancestor of Trumpism.
- djur 6y ago
  This is called [Duverger's law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law) in political science. The effect is increased by how relatively small the US legislature is -- there are more members of the UK House of Commons than there are US Representatives and Senators combined! This makes it more difficult for third parties to develop in regional strongholds. (The US also doesn't have the strong regionalism that bolsters third parties in Canada and the UK, for that matter.) My understanding is that the presidential system also tends to favor two-party politics. The Federalists and Democratic-Republicans formed from pro- and anti-administration factions during Washington's presidency, while the Democrats and Whigs formed in support and opposition to Jackson.
- Mashimo 6y ago
  > In a first-past-the-post system, the smaller parties after the first two will be very quickly eliminated or consolidated I think the questions is, would switching away from first-past-the-post system to something that fruits more parties help in decreasing polarization?
- perfunctory 6y ago
  > but two parties is the only stable configuration Do you mean this in the US context specifically or in general? There are plenty of countries with more than two parties and very stable governments.
  - lovecg 6y ago
    Yes, it depends on the voting mechanism and other aspects of how the government is set up, as other commenters pointed out. I was talking about the US specifically.

lovecg 6y ago

The argument has been beaten to death so I’m probably not saying anything new to most people here, but two parties is the only stable configuration. In a first-past-the-post system, the smaller parties after the first two will be very quickly eliminated or consolidated (this includes the limiting case of no parties, where everyone is a party of one). On the other hand, if you have one large party it will eventually splinter due to internal discord and a lack of a common enemy. There have been brief periods in time when there were more than two significant parties in the US. Just after the constitution was written is one — it didn’t take long for parties to be established. Another example was the time period around when the Whig party disintegrated and the Republican party was established. There was the moment in that fallout in 1856 when the Know Nothing party got a few electoral votes, on a platform that is a direct ideological ancestor of Trumpism.

djur 6y ago
This is called [Duverger's law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law) in political science. The effect is increased by how relatively small the US legislature is -- there are more members of the UK House of Commons than there are US Representatives and Senators combined! This makes it more difficult for third parties to develop in regional strongholds. (The US also doesn't have the strong regionalism that bolsters third parties in Canada and the UK, for that matter.) My understanding is that the presidential system also tends to favor two-party politics. The Federalists and Democratic-Republicans formed from pro- and anti-administration factions during Washington's presidency, while the Democrats and Whigs formed in support and opposition to Jackson.
Mashimo 6y ago
> In a first-past-the-post system, the smaller parties after the first two will be very quickly eliminated or consolidated I think the questions is, would switching away from first-past-the-post system to something that fruits more parties help in decreasing polarization?
perfunctory 6y ago
> but two parties is the only stable configuration Do you mean this in the US context specifically or in general? There are plenty of countries with more than two parties and very stable governments.
- lovecg 6y ago
  Yes, it depends on the voting mechanism and other aspects of how the government is set up, as other commenters pointed out. I was talking about the US specifically.