Instruction
FORUM DESCRIPTION
Here are talking points for Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: Chapter 1. Pick two or three topics to discuss in your original post.
Why did Madison believe that a more powerful national government would not mean more tyranny?
Why would it be less probable, according to Madison, that one faction would have more power over another in a government with a large population?
According to the author, what would have happened if the Framers focused more on factional balancing and less on checking power?
Why did the Framers fear parties?
What is geographical discrimination and why is it a problem? Do you think those warnings came true? Why?
What did Washington mean by despotism, and how would that lead to “strong man” politics?
What is meant by “a party to end all parties” and why isn’t that possible?
Why did Americans eventually accept political parties?
What is meant by “big tent” politics, and why did this "big tent" keep them from organizing into distinct parties?
What did the Framers understand would be fatal to democracy, and do you think those fears came true? What is the geographical divide now?
What is the “Doom Loop”? Why is it a trap and why can’t we get out of the loop?
What is meant by “Once the parties polarize in a two-party system, polarization becomes self-reinforcing dynamic”?
What makes for toxic politics? What makes for healthy politics? How does the Doom Loop play into toxic politics?
Why do democracies die? Do you think the U.S. is headed toward the death of democracy? Why or why not?
How does the survival of a democracy depend on the actions of winners and losers?
The author shows that the two current political parties (Democrats and Republicans) are older than many of the world’s democracies. Other parties existed in our country before the current system. He stated that the Framers were creating something new and got some things wrong and some things right. What did they get wrong? What did the Framers get Rights?
What British governing system did the Framers adopt, and how has this lead to our “winner takes all” system that plays into the Doom Loop?
What is “proportional representation” and how does it lead to multi-party democracies?
The Framers didn’t like parties, but why are they essential in a democracy?
Why are binary choices problematic in a democracy? How would more parties remedy these issues?
What is a governing coalition (examples would be the U.K’s parliamentary system)? How do these coalitions foster compromise?
According to the author, what are some reasons multi-party systems desirable?
What do most electoral experts recommend, and why?
Why is American democracy a "strange hybrid"?
Why has the nationalism of political parties created the Doom Loop? Why is it at odds with compromise?
The author hints at a remedy (to discuss later) to end the Doom Loop. What is this remedy?