Identify the main advantages and disadvantages of the two-party system in US.

Question

Identify the main advantages and disadvantages of the two-party system in US. According to your opinion, which is better, a two party or a multi-party system? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

A month late, but I'll do my best to answer.

For the average citizen, the two-party political system helps to streamline information and issues for easier understanding. Politics and bureaucracy as institutions are massively complex and often require years of study to fully understand (source: I was a political science major in college. I still feel like I only know a fraction of the field). It makes it easier to identify which politicians, parties, and groups stand for which general principals and ideals.

Of course, this isn't without its caveats. The two-party system helps to simplify matters by leaving some ideas and positions completely by the wayside. The institutionalization of the two main parties - Democrats and Republicans - excludes some ideas to appeal to a theoretically wider base. Smaller parties, such as the Libertarian and Green parties, struggle to share their positions on a grand scale due to the absolute scale and dominance of the main two parties. In essence, the two party system keeps a steady hold on the status quo - that is, politicians more often than not residing in the political center - while alienating other groups that may have support.

Answer 2

It narrows the candidates down to 2 feasible choices, giving the voter an easier comparison, less research needed to keep the voter informed than when a voter would have to compare a larger group of candidates. It also avoids the irrationality of Arrow's Voting Paradox or Impossibility Theorem.

but compared to parliamentary systems, it gives less voice to smaller minority groups who may form 3rd parites and have some leverage when neither of the two major parties have a majority. Coalition governments formed then will give a 3rd party better representation. Also 2 majority parties, if they collude with a effective duopoly on some issues such as financial, have no check on their power or ability to enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayers.