Max Weber Political Party Analysis

The American political sphere is dominated by different political parties, each with a distinct set of values and beliefs about the role of the government in the lives of individuals. Parties allow people to be represented based on their political opinions, and be surrounded by others like them. The current political environment is centered on two main parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, but there has been a movement towards independent voters and smaller parties that focus on more specific issues. On a micro perspective, political parties should allow individuals to vote and make decisions on what would improve their lives the most, which is the basis of Max Weber’s rational choice theory. Karl Marx would view politics from a macro …show more content…
Karl Marx’s study of conflict theory was centered two groups. There was the bourgeois, which was the group with the power and that controlled the means of production, and therefore the economic system. The other group was the proletariats, the group of people being exploited by the bourgeois for economic gain. Marx described the ongoing struggle for power between the two groups, and a cycle of revolution that led to the overthrow of the more powerful group. He would find similarities in the bourgeoisie and proletariat conflict and the modern conflict of the Democratic and Republican parties. Over the last 50 years, there has been increasing polarization within the government between the two parties. There has been a rotation of the party controlling the executive and legislative branches, often switching out with new elections. The two parties have such different agendas that it has become increasingly difficult for the branches or different parts of Congress to pass legislation and support their constituents. Both parties have different beliefs about how the government budget should be spent, the extent of government involvement in individual’s affairs, and on international relations. The divergence on beliefs has grown over the last ten years, shown through graphs of percentages of Democrats and Republicans that agree with certain …show more content…
Political parties that are meant to represent the citizens of the country and enable them to have some control over their government are driving away their members and creating apathy. The theory that individuals act based on their own self-interest is not fully true in the current political atmosphere, since individuals are not actually acting by voting, although politicians are still looking after their positions. A rational-choice theorist would say this issue can be more easily solved by motivating individuals to vote and helping them speak out about topics and what they desire. There are many examples of conflict theory in the government as a whole, from political parties clashing for power and control over policy, to the conflicting interests of big businesses and the average working class American. The fight for power between groups has existed since the late 1700s with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties, and has been a key part of politics since. The inequality between groups regarding economics has been a recurring theme across history, with the wealthy controlling the lives of the poor. Therefore, if the current system continues, a conflict theorist would say that there is no solution to the constant cycle of struggles for power. From a micro and macro perspective, the political system is not benefitting