Yes, the American political system is broken.
1. The US Constitution was a good attempt in the horse-and-buggy era, but it isn't relevant for the information superhighway today.
2. The designers of the Constitution tried to prevent the formation of political parties. Their naivete means that there are no proper rules for controlling parties.
3. The system has evolved into a 2-party system which pervades the courts as well as legislature, so that there are no checks and balances in the system.
4. Big business has bought both parties, so that there is no alternative to a big business controlled party.
5. Without some form of proportional representation (I would suggest a German or a Scandinavian model) there is no chance for a Green, Socialist, Libertarian, etc party to influence government. Only PR would allow a clean (non-business) party to be viable.
6. Voting percentages fall when people have no choice. Americans have less choice than people in most developed economies, which is why they vote less.
7. The US is not so much a democracy as a plutocracy, and it is becoming more so, under the guidance of all Presidents, Congresses and Supreme Courts of the past several decades. There is a deliberate effort to create a strongly differentiated class-based society. The economic condition of the majority of Americans has been stagnant for at least 15 years, while the country as a whole has become vastly richer - i.e., everything has been to the benefit of the wealthiest Americans.
8. So, yes, the American political system is broken.
July 31, 2011
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