Party Politics: U.S. and Parliamentary System Elections
Third parties in the United States have been unsuccessful largely because of the single-member-plurality system. Whoever comes in first wins the office. In parliamentary systems, the percentage of votes each party gets equates to the percentage of s...
American Experiment, The: Steps Toward a Constitutional Democracy
In the 19th century British Prime Minister Gladstone called the American Constitution "the most remarkable work in modern times produced by the human intellect at a single stroke." Historian Bernard Bailyn agrees that our constitutional system is re...
American Heritage: Vast Wilderness Kindles Individualism and Self-determination
America's vast wilderness and its distance from the old world gave settlers far more liberty, equality, and self governance that they could have imagined. Social class played less of a role than in their home countries. This and the fact that ordina...
Balancing Act: Nation's Fiscal Policy, A
One of the ways that government stabilizes the economy is through its fiscal policy, the amount of money it spends in comparison to the taxes it collects. Although no one likes taxes, the U. S. is one of the least taxed countries in the western worl...
The Nation's Welfare: Contrasting Attitudes of Europe and America Toward Social Welfare
Few policy issues facing government officials incite greater controversy than questions related to the country's responsibility to assist those in need. Guest commentators Michael Sandel, Seymour Martin Lipset, and Joel Handler draw distinctions bet...
Frames of Reference: Divergent Points of View
Public opinion is a powerful yet elusive force in American politics. It is not that people are shy about expressing their views; it is just that the advice is so varied. Like many things in life, people begin developing opinions in childhood. People...
Frames of Reference: Dividing Lines
We are united as a country by certain common ideals, but we are divided by ideologies and group priorities that push us in different directions. The philosophical battle is often between individual and social solutions to problems.