The Role of Political Parties in the United States
The United States of America, according to Bardes, Barbara A., Mack C. Shelley, and Steffen W. Schmidt (256), has a democracy dominated by a two-party structure. The two main political parties in the United States are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. These parties have agendas and use strategies in their campaigns and elections that threaten the Democratic Theory of Pluralism in both positive and negative ways. Some pressure group theories besides the Egalitarian hypothesis are the elite theory and the hyper-pluralist theory. The Democratic Pluralist Theory argues that the interest group ( an organization of people with similar policy goals who get into a political process to try achieving their goals) activity brings representation to all.
The Three Levels of Government
The two primary political parties in the United States operate three different levels of government. These levels are the local state level such as the municipal governments, the state level such as the gubernatorial elections and finally the national level such as the presidential election. Political parties' main goal is to nominate candidates who take part in the elections and campaign with the nominated candidates to ensure they win in their respective levels of competition. As the parties strive to achieve this goal, they employ many tactics such as propaganda during campaigns, selecting individuals with both popularity and financial muscle and ensuring the transparency of the election process, just to mention but a few. Since all political parties share this goal, the actions they take to guarantee their candidates victory can harm or benefit the theory of pluralism (Bardes, Barbara A. et. al, 260).
Benefits of Political Parties on Democratic Pluralism
The first way in which the goals and tactics used by political parties benefit the theory of democratic pluralism is by enhancing the flow of political information. Since the theory states that a few people represent the interests of the larger American population through representation, campaigns play a vital role in making this a reality. It is during the period of the campaign that the candidates strive to explain their goals to the citizens which eventually help the voter in making an informed decision. Besides, the desire by the political parties to win a majority of the seats for instance, in the Congress, pushes the parties to help the electoral agencies in explaining the benefit of taking part in an election. This promotes the understanding of indirect democracy and the idea of pluralism which simply implies that the winners in the elections are determined by the majority votes cast for an individual. The second way in which the goal of political parties promotes the theory of democratic pluralism is by enhancing sober policy formulations. In the United States, the two main political parties stand for different policies, for instance, Democrats are viewed to be predominantly communists while their Republican counterparts are capitalists. Since pluralism states that a multitude of people and not the whole population govern the United States, the political parties allow people from various organizations such as the civil rights organizations, trade unions, and professional organizations among others to make laws and policies on behalf of the American citizens. In their campaigns, the political parties sell their policies to the electorate which then determines whether or not an individual political party can convince a voter. It is for this reason that most political parties use strategies such as having technocrats in different fields explain directly to the citizens, in the best possible way, what an individual party stands for. By so doing, the political parties promote the theory of Democratic Pluralism. Finally, the goals and tactics used by political parties promote both political equality and political socialization which are key in the theory of Democratic Socialism. The election process allows every legible voter to have just one voting right. This brings al the Americans under the constitutional equality of rights. The elections, therefore, allows the citizens to acquire important political values such as reading and to fathom manifestos.
Potential Disadvantages of Political Parties on Democratic Pluralism
On the other hand, the goals and tactics used by political parties can sometimes disadvantage the theory of Democratic Pluralism. The idea of repressing the interest of one’s people once elected can sometimes undermine the same service delivery one had intended to achieve. When members of political parties get into government and focus only on the goals of their political parties, it becomes difficult to pass important laws and policies. For instance, the 2016 budget was crippled due to the disagreement between the Republicans and Democrats on where to reduce expenses (Below, Amy 2013). Two, the campaigns can bring division among the American people especially when the political parties come up with ethnic rhetorics. For instance, when President Donald J. Trump came up with the idea of deporting illegitimate Americans (those who were not documented), some of the citizens, especially the emigrants, felt that they were the target of the policy. This policy statement was most likely to consolidate the Republicans votes which were not necessarily the majority of the immigrants. Finally, the campaigns and elections can produce leaders who do not meet the threshold of representation as mentioned in the theory of Democratic Pluralism. It is possible for incompetent leaders to ride on the wave of parties and make it to the house of representation such as the Congress (Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry E. Brady 1995). It then becomes difficult for these leaders to come up with policies that benefit their people. In conclusion, the goals and tactics used by political parties concerning the campaigns and elections have more merits the theory of Democratic Pluralism than demerits in the American government.
Works Cited
Bardes, Barbara A., Mack C. Shelley, and Steffen W. Schmidt. American Government and Politics Today: Essentials 2015-2016 Edition. Nelson Education, (2015): 249-285.
Bardes, Barbara A., Mack C. Shelley, and Steffen W. Schmidt. American Government and Politics Today: Essentials 2015-2016 Edition. Nelson Education, (2015): 285-320
Below, Amy. “Parties, Campaigns, and Elections.” (2013).
Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry E. Brady. Voice and equality: Civic voluntarism in American politics. Harvard University Press, 1995.
