Two Party System

I just had a very engaging conversation about this topic with an old friend so I feel like it's worth discussing more in depth. I've discussed both general sides of the political spectrum, but haven't really touched on how they're inter linked and I think it would be a good idea to do so. It's not hard to wrap your heady around the idea of why a political system where there are two main factions is such a common thing in the world. Duality is an easy thing to grasp; left and right, liberal and conservative, day and night, hot and cold, yin and yang, etc. But the big problem I see with it is that the set up is a gross oversimplification of the spectrum of ideas that make up any one particular persons political leanings that leads to the common occurrence of having to compromise many of your personal convictions when voting in order to prevent a perceived ideological opposite from taking power. That being said, like with many issues, it's easy to point out the problem but not as much to find a solution. Many would say to just introduce more parties in order to accommodate for the variety of philosophies, but then the issue of an inability to find consensus behind one particular group comes into play. While the issues of a simple dualistic political system are extremely obvious in the United States, I've found that many of my fellow Americans don't realize that it's a situation that's far from unique to this country. Many countries with a parliamentary system run into a similar problem, although different circumstances lead them there. Many nations do have multiple parties but they run into the issue of not being able to gain a majority in order to enact their policy plans so they resort to the tactic of forming coalitions. However, in doing so, many of the groups have to meet others half way in order to come to an agreement on a common goal, often leading to the compromising of convictions that Americans deal with on a more individual level. I can't say for sure which is better, but the point I'm trying to illustrate here is that this is an issue on a much larger scale. But let's get back to the United States since that's the scenario your most likely familiar with. Obviously if you're even slightly aware of politics in the country, you know that elected governmental positions typically fall between individuals belonging to one of two parties; democrats or republicans. But that's all I'm going to say about that since I'm not trying to run a crash course in politics 101. What I'm going to get back to focusing on is what I see wrong with this. As someone who tends to be more ideologically aligned with liberal ideas, one would assume that I'm inclined to side with democrats. While this is true for the most part, I've still yet to encounter an instance where I stepped into a voting booth and walked out of it feeling completely satisfied with what I did inside. This is always because no matter how much I agree with the stances of a particular candidate, I will never find one whose policies are 100% in line with my views. The only instance where that would occur would be if I were to write in myself, and I don't foresee an active role in government in my future. Understanding that I'm not unique in this experience is key to understanding the current governmental system, which is that it's based on meeting others half way in order to achieve common goals. By now I'd say I've driven that point home well enough so I'll go onto the other main issue that my friend brought up to me, which is that he believes both parties are essentially the same. My response was that in some ways I agree. While democrats and republicans will constantly bicker about their ideological differences, at the end of the day they belong to the same social class. They work in the same system, attend many the same social functions, and at times, it seems like they have at least one goal in common; to keep the current status quo in place. It would be especially ignorant to say that this is the absolute reality for every single politician, seeing as many profess a strong desire to change the current set up and some have taken substantial action to do so. Yet at the same time, many others appear not especially eager for a shift. Many would say this is because of a perception of adequacy, some would say it's just because they profit off of the current system regardless of believing that it is actually functioning in the most effective manner. I take a more case by case approach (I apologize for being a broken record about that). I think a large factor that leads to the distrust of politicians is the same factor that leads to a distrust of people in general; you can never get a complete picture of what's going on in their heads, and with politicians that uncertainty is amplified by the fact that these individuals have a degree of influence. That's why so many are wary of those in power, regardless of affiliation. Often times a leaders actions would lead one to assume that ideology doesn't even matter to them, only holding on to power. This is a criticism applied to figures across the political spectrum. Another large problem with the two party system that my colleague and I agree on is that it seems to have gotten to such a point of fierce tribalism that often times any idea perceived to belong to the other camp is so reviled that not even useful aspects of it would be considered as viable in a different scenario or application. This is one of the greatest killers of progress in my opinion. I believe that even if you disagree with something, there still might be some use within it if you are willing to allow yourself to see it. That's something that this incredibly tribal system we have right now tends to prevent. It should also be said that the problem of dualistic thinking isn't unique to those in power. It travels throughout every level of society, making it an issue that transcends race, class, religion, and pretty much any other classification I can think of. In my mind, the best way to combat dualistic thinking is to make your best effort to have an open mind. I'm aware that this is one of many things that's much easier said than done, but fixing larger societal problems, unfortunately, is a task that is never easy.