In the 239 years that the United States of America has been an independent, established nation, numerous developments and conflicts have resulted in confusion and conflict over how the founders of the country intended for it to be governed. Although the nation, as well as the world around it, has changed, many outdated policies and ideas about the way the country should be run still remain. These outdated and unclear policies and practices have led to political corruption and confusion. There is also an increasing sense of political polarization, and Americans are encouraged more now than ever to take extreme stands with regards to their political beliefs and practices. The combined contemporary issues of political corruption and polarization
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A kludge is defined as, “an ill-assorted collection of parts assembled to fulfill a particular purpose...a clumsy but temporarily effective solution to a particular fault or problem” (Teles, 1). Thus, a kludgeocracy is a system in which problems are remedied with a series of short-term solutions, which more often than not serve the interests of those creating and approving them in the moment, rather than with long-term solutions that benefit the masses, or solutions that eradicate the issue altogether. Rather than dealing with issues of liberal versus conservative values, or the continuing struggle between federal and state powers, kludgeocracy is the question of complexity versus simplicity (Teles, 1). The more short-term policy solutions are employed, the more complexity there will be in the American government system, because the system will not only continue to be flawed and fragmented, but will also be hastily patched in manners that will only lead to further problems in the …show more content…
America’s “federal” system is not, in fact, purely a federal system. In a true federal system, there is a clear difference between state and national governments, but this is not true of the American government (Teles, 5). In America, the respective powers and responsibilities of the federal and state governments overlap and are not clearly divided, which leads to confusion over matters that would seem to be important parts of the foundation of the American government. Instead, the American political system can be described as “indirect and incoherent” (Teles, 2). Confusion over such a seemingly basic issue can have disastrous results. For example, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, there were miscommunications as to whether the levees were the responsibility of the state or federal government because the system is so convoluted. Confusion over one basic issue of responsibility because of the unclear political system had detrimental effects that the people of New Orleans are still trying to overcome, ten years later (Teles, 3). In a system so convoluted that even those involved are not certain of their own responsibilities, how can citizens possibly be expected to be well informed as to the specifics of their government? The average American knows which party they support and has a general idea as to why, but the
A kludge is defined as, “an ill-assorted collection of parts assembled to fulfill a particular purpose...a clumsy but temporarily effective solution to a particular fault or problem” (Teles, 1). Thus, a kludgeocracy is a system in which problems are remedied with a series of short-term solutions, which more often than not serve the interests of those creating and approving them in the moment, rather than with long-term solutions that benefit the masses, or solutions that eradicate the issue altogether. Rather than dealing with issues of liberal versus conservative values, or the continuing struggle between federal and state powers, kludgeocracy is the question of complexity versus simplicity (Teles, 1). The more short-term policy solutions are employed, the more complexity there will be in the American government system, because the system will not only continue to be flawed and fragmented, but will also be hastily patched in manners that will only lead to further problems in the …show more content…
America’s “federal” system is not, in fact, purely a federal system. In a true federal system, there is a clear difference between state and national governments, but this is not true of the American government (Teles, 5). In America, the respective powers and responsibilities of the federal and state governments overlap and are not clearly divided, which leads to confusion over matters that would seem to be important parts of the foundation of the American government. Instead, the American political system can be described as “indirect and incoherent” (Teles, 2). Confusion over such a seemingly basic issue can have disastrous results. For example, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, there were miscommunications as to whether the levees were the responsibility of the state or federal government because the system is so convoluted. Confusion over one basic issue of responsibility because of the unclear political system had detrimental effects that the people of New Orleans are still trying to overcome, ten years later (Teles, 3). In a system so convoluted that even those involved are not certain of their own responsibilities, how can citizens possibly be expected to be well informed as to the specifics of their government? The average American knows which party they support and has a general idea as to why, but the