Most people might agree that there are plenty of benefits to having a say in how things are run, but the same people may also tell you there are limits to how much say individuals should have.
Americans love the principles of democracy, but they question its role in the workplace-namely when it comes to business structures like worker co-ops where employees have a say in major business decisions.
The main argument is that people don’t necessarily know what’s good for them, and can’t be bothered to be tuned in all the time. There’s also the issue of expertise: should people who don’t know much about a certain area of business have a say in how it’s conducted?
The moment we apply this line of thinking to our political system, however, things can get a bit heated. Voting is not a right we should take for granted, but there are too many flaws in our systems for us to not do anything to improve it.
Education and Information
In an ideal world, democracy works because everyone who participates has access to all important relevant information, has critical thinking skills and can adjust their beliefs when presented with new information and perspectives, and understands issues at great length. They are also voting based on personal assessments of facts, not in alignment to the beliefs of an outside group.
But the American political system does not work like this. People vote according to party lines, and are easily susceptible to manipulation by media channels.
What’s worse, is that public policy can be weaponized to manipulate voters. If schools aren’t given enough funding, for example, generations of Americans will grow up without the critical thinking skills necessary for political participation.
Politicians will be able to use sensationalism to turn minor issues into platforms on which they win elections. Instead of addressing real issues, politics becomes a sports like spectacle with real human lives hanging in the balance.
The Two Party System
The two party system is an unfortunate result of the way our political system is designed. If politicians are incentivized to create alliances in order to secure funding and support, it becomes easy to turn complex issues into dichotomous ones.
Instead of dividing a political body into several schools of thought, it’s much more effective to compromise on ideals and pool together the resources of a similar group so that you can outperform others. Do this enough times and your diverse political body transforms into two super-groups that stand in opposition to each other on virtually every issue.
This is not effective governing. We end up grappling on the question of “yes” and “no” instead of “how”.