EP 340 Breaking the Two Party Stranglehold on Our Politics

Politics in America has become a zero sum game. My team wins. Your team loses. And this polarization results in a downgrading of our democracy from a ‘full democracy’ to a ‘flawed democracy’ in the eyes of international experts and, more importantly, it results in nothing getting done, which brings on even more frustration. So how do we break this cycle and restore our democracy to better health? According to Lee Drutman, a senior fellow in the Political Reform Program at New America and author of ‘Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop’ the path forward involves bringing multiparty democracy to the United States. Now before you say that third parties have never worked in this country, you have to hear his argument that for many years in the late 20th century we, in effect, had a four party system. And in the last decade we have developed into a country with a fully nationalized, fully sorted two party system divided over existential questions about American identity. With the stakes riding so high on issues, because of the divide, its nearly impossible to compromise of key issues and get anything done. In the process, our system is becoming unworkable. So, what’s the alternative? Our guest asks you to envision the multiparty system, so common around the globe. He’ll explain the advantages and how we can get there.

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