M10 POSC150

What does EE Schattschenieder say

Modern democracy is unthinkable save in terms of the parties- You cannot have a functioning democracy without having political parties

Why do voters rely on partisanship to get by (even though it raises problems)

its an easy information shortcut to follow, a team to belong to and root for, and away to make sense of politics - all of which can skew reality and override self-interest

Partisanship increasing over time, driven by negative partisanship

it means people aren't just joining a party because they love their own side; they are sticking to it because they hate the other side.

is partisanship increasing or decreasing?

Partisanship increasing over time, driven by negative partisanship

Why third parties can’t break through

limited options in a two-party system, our electoral system, people don’t want to waste votes so abandon third parties, politicians want to win so they join major parties

Why third parties cant break through - breakdown of electoral system

duvergers law of the winner take all system and the proportional representation system

Duvergers law- winner takes all

whoever wins the most votes gets everything

Proportional representation system

the percentage of votes won equals percentage of seats/electors you get

polarized parties

parties that are far apart in their beliefs and policies, with little overlap in the middle

Median voter theorem

parties should converge on average voter’s position to win elections

what has been hapenning with polarized and convergence

parties have polarized instead of converging and rather than average voter, candidates need to appeal to more extreme party base to win the primary election and even more extreme activists for help electioneering

Why dont people like political parties

we have limited options in a two-party system and theyre more extreme than the average voter - both are foundations of elections