The Two-Party System

Political Parties

A political party is a group of people with broad common interests who organize to win elections, control government, and thereby influence government policies. In one-Party system, in effect, is the government. The decisions of party leaders set government policy. In some one-party nations, political differences rise only within the party itself because the government tolerates no other opposition. A multiparty system is the most common political system today. The parties in a multiparty system often represents widely differing ideologies, or basic beliefs about government. But in a multiparty system, one party rarely gets enough support to control the government. Two-Party Systems are rare, only about a dozen nations have

Despite the dominance of the major parties, third parties have been part of the American political scene since the early days of the Republic. A third party is any other party other than the one of the two major parties. Although there may be some exceptions and overlapping, minor parties generally fall into one of three categories. The single-issue party focuses exclusively on one major social, economic, or moral issue. Another type of third party is the ideological party, which focuses on overall change in society rather than on an issue. Ideological parties such as the Socialist Labor Party and the Communist Party USA advocate government ownership of the factories transportations, resources, farmland, and other means of production and distribution. The third type of minor party is the splinter party, which splits away from one of the major parties because of some disagreement. Minor parties have influenced the outcome of national elections. Theodore Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party drew so many Republican votes from President William Howard Taft in 1912 that Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson was elected. As a result of the two-party tradition, minor parties face difficulties in getting on the

Beyond this function it has very little authority. Political parties seek men and women who seem to have a good chance of being elected. Selecting candidates for public office and presenting them to the voters for approval is the major function of political parties. Despite efforts to avoid division, political parties do bring important issues to the attention of the public. Each party publishes its position on the issues of the day, such as inflation, military spending, taxes, pollution, energy, and the environment. Political parties also play a key role in running and staffing the government. Congress and the state legislatures are organized and carry on their work on the basis of party affiliation. Party leaders in the legislatures make every effort to see that their members support the party’s position when considering legislation. A party also acts as a link between a legislature and chief executive. A chief executive works through his or her party leaders in the legislature to promote the administration’s program. The method most commonly used today to nominate candidates is the direct primary, an election in which party members select people to run in the general election. Two types of