I will presume you have some information about the two-party system. In simple, this means only two major parties receive a majority vote for the representatives. It further shows that only one of the two parties can win the majority in the government. A good example of two-party systems is the US.
A two-party system has its pros and cons. For that reason, we have shared a list of ten pros and ten cons to leaving you well informed.
Pros of the two-party system
1. It simplifies the election process-A two-party system makes the whole voting process easier and fast. A voter will check the handful of issues that are important to them and eventually cast their vote accordingly.
2. The system eliminates confusion-in countries where people deal with many parties during the election period; it’s easy to be confused. People face challenges cramming all the parties. They can confusingly vote for the wrong party.
3. The common ideas gain traction-There will always be a partisan idea in a two-party system. This idea will be promoted by the majority and conflicted by the minority. This idea makes it hard for parties to practice extremism.
4. More people participate in the civic process-In governments where there are multiple parties, it creates multiple platforms that should be evaluated. This shows that without the two-party system, someone can easily come up with his or her parties.
5. It speeds up the process of governing-in the case of emergencies, a two-party government can easily respond to the issues. This is simply because all branches of the government will participate in the two-party system.
6. Anyone can run for office-The The two-party system gives any person regardless of their status a chance to run for office. This is actually what promotes the most experienced to win the majority vote.
7. It encourages the majority representation-The party that gets to the governance represents the will of the majority. This is because the voters represent the number of people satisfied with the governance.
8. People with extreme views cannot be elected-This kind of governance makes it hard for people with extreme views to be elected into office. The two-party system also restricts the concept of going overboard in an elected office.
9. Reduces the cost of the Electoral board– In case of more than two parties, there are chances for a rerun. In this case, the electoral board will reduce the cost of facilitating different parties and setting aside funds for a rerun.
10. The governing process is easy and fast when there are fewer parties involved, the government can easily govern the people without giving ways for wastage of time from the opposition and other parties.
Cons of two-party systems
1. The inconsistent governing patterns-One distinctive disadvantage of two-party systems is that they may end up creating inconsistent governing patterns. This is not the case with a coalition government where there’s consistency in governing.
2. Not 100% representation of personal idea– this is definitely because the two-party system puts multiple offshoots beneath on the general umbrella.
3. The party is changed into a fixed but changing set of political views there’s an idea of a set of a listing priority that every person will want to accomplish in this kind of governance.
4. The number of ideas will be limited-Now because there are only two parties involved; all the other parties with ideas will be limited. This is one big challenge because as we know, the best ideas live with the minorities.
5. It creates a system of exclusivity-some states in a country that will only go for specific parties regardless of how bad their governance ideas are. In the case you vie with a different party in such states, you will be put down no matter how good your governance seems to be.
6. It reduces the choices of the voter-Voters who have fewer options when it comes to voting. They will only have to choose the democrats or the republicans.
7. The voting patterns are based on the name recognition-This kind of governance creates a pattern where people will go for prominent names rather than ideas.
8. It may lead to societal polarization-This is an idea that was put forth by P.J. O’Rourke. It is a very serious disadvantage that polarizes some societies.
9. It introduces a pluralist system-An example of the US, more than 90 percent of the states are given the votes on a basis this or nothing basis. This means that this form of government limits the chances of a 3rd party with a candidate that can be recognized.
10. It limits debate-when you listen to ideas from only two people, then there’s the limitation of ideas and other important views that could help the country.
