“Those damn liberals are wasting all of our money!” or “Those crazy conservatives are running the country to the ground!” I’m sure you’ve heard things like these before and they are becoming all the more common. This is just one example of how political hyperpolarization is becoming more prominent. Political Hyperpolarization in American Politics is a growing trend that leads to deadlock in government and political pandering at the expense of the common good. This can be solved by reforming the political primary system to reduce the influence of extreme voters.
Political hyperpolarization is the increasing amount of individuals identifying themselves with a particular party or ideology. In the United States this is seen as members of the public and Congress associating themselves with either the Republican or Democratic party. In fact the number of people who hold conservative or liberal opinions has doubled in the past ten years …show more content…
Polarization in political parties does give voters clearer choices on who they are voting for.“It increases the ideological distance between the parties, and it also increases the ideological homogeneity within each party” (Levendusky, Matthew. "Clearer Cues... 114). In other words the parties are becoming more black and white with less grey area between them. This also leads to greater consistency and accountability in the voting of individuals in Congress as members are expected to vote with the party. “This increase in partisan behavior in Congress is consistent with many of the reforms that American Political Science Association and others have proposed as necessary for collective accountability“ (Jones, David R. 323). Although these are beneficial, they are outweighed by the negative consequences of hyperpolarization. It is pointless to hold Congress accountable to their votes if those votes are by result,
Political hyperpolarization is the increasing amount of individuals identifying themselves with a particular party or ideology. In the United States this is seen as members of the public and Congress associating themselves with either the Republican or Democratic party. In fact the number of people who hold conservative or liberal opinions has doubled in the past ten years …show more content…
Polarization in political parties does give voters clearer choices on who they are voting for.“It increases the ideological distance between the parties, and it also increases the ideological homogeneity within each party” (Levendusky, Matthew. "Clearer Cues... 114). In other words the parties are becoming more black and white with less grey area between them. This also leads to greater consistency and accountability in the voting of individuals in Congress as members are expected to vote with the party. “This increase in partisan behavior in Congress is consistent with many of the reforms that American Political Science Association and others have proposed as necessary for collective accountability“ (Jones, David R. 323). Although these are beneficial, they are outweighed by the negative consequences of hyperpolarization. It is pointless to hold Congress accountable to their votes if those votes are by result,