Sixth in a Series on Multiparty Democracy
As I argued at the beginning of this series, the hyperpartisanship that has derailed American democracy is a direct result of the ideologically-sorted two-party system that has characterized national politics in the United States for the last generation. As Lee Drutman has written, this hyperpartisanship is a doom-loop that will either maintain the political dysfunction or, more likely, devolve into increasing violence and/or autocracy.
The only solution to this political dysfunction is a multiparty democracy. Drutman (p. 206) details some of the benefits of the multiparty system as follows:
- More parties mean more diversity of representation.
- Voters in multiparty democracy are more likely to find a party they affirmatively like, rather than simply support as the lesser of two evils.
- Voters are more likely to feel represented and engaged politically.
- Minority voters need not cluster together into majority-minority districts to elect their candidates of choice.
- And when countries use proportional representation to generate multiparty democracy, voters don't have to live in "swing" districts for their votes to matter. Under a proportional system, almost all votes matter equally, regardless of where they are cast; elections do not come down to a limited number of "swing" districts.
But the real advantage to multiparty democracy occurs when the politicians come together to legislate. In a true multiparty democracy, no party has a majority; no party can pass laws by itself. Rather, legislators must form coalitions to pass laws according to their own platforms and the views of their supporters. These coalitions tend to be shifting, coalescing around specific issues. The opposition in this week’s voting on tax policy may be the partners in next week’s voting on immigration. As issues shift, the coalitions shift, and politicians recognize that maintaining negotiating relationships with one another is crucial to their own best interests. Multiparty democracy regularizes compromise and coalition building. Since parties need to work together to govern, more viewpoints are likely to be heard.
As I described in an earlier post, the vast majority of world democracies have multiple parties — the average is five or six. Drutman summarizes the political science research, which is deafening in its support of multiparty democracy.
Multiparty legislatures in proportional democracies have a strong record of producing broadly acceptable moderate policy outcomes. As a general rule, when a wider range of parties gets representation in the legislature, it's hard to form a majority governing coalition that doesn't include the political center. And once coalitions form, they have a strong incentive to produce policy outcomes that that are broadly acceptable, because staying in the middle divides the potential opposition.
- Multiparty legislatures can also be more responsive to issue-specific majorities, because different coalitions are more likely to form across different issues.
- Because multiparty systems are better at incorporating multiple dimensions into politics, coalition building can be more fluid. Enemies can sometimes be allies.
- And this cooperation communicates a more multifaceted politics back to citizens: there are no permanent majorities and no permanent minorities.
- Coalition multiparty government demands complex negotiation that tends to reflect and build broad public support far better than majoritarian democracy.
- It also means citizens in the minority on one issue don't have to be in the minority on all issues.
True majority coalitions on complex issues are hard to build. They take time.
Again the research is clear:
More inclusive policymaking brings in more diverse views, which almost always generates a more sustainable final output. In multiparty democracy policymaking is more incremental, and thus more stable. …
Because multiparty democracy demands broadly inclusive policymaking and makes it hard for minorities or even narrow majorities to sharply change policy, voters in multiparty democracies are much more likely to view governments as legitimate regardless of how well their party did in the last election.
If parties don't campaign in all-or-nothing terms, voters won't see elections in those terms either. As a result, voters in multiparty democracies are happier with their governments, regardless of whether or not their party won the last election. This satisfaction has important consequences. It lends more legitimacy and support to government, which gives political leaders more space to solve big problems. Voters are more likely to feel like they are being heard, largely because they are better represented. (Drutman p. 215-16)
As a progressive, part of me fears the centrist moderation that multiparty democracy breeds. But then I remember two things:
- The current toxic hyperpartisanship is the worst of all worlds, hurtling us toward political violence and autocracy.
- Strong majorities of Americans actually support progressive policies:
- Sensible gun control
- Reasonable immigration reform
- Higher taxes on the wealthy to provide adequate services for all
- Government support for the truly needy
- Moderate abortion policies (roughly along the lines of Roe v Wade)
A multiparty democracy in which the democratic will of the people prevailed would be a far more progressive politics than we can now even dream. As a progressive, I don’t need to fear democracy.
The American political system in in crisis. During more than half the legislative session since 1993, we have had divided government in which neither party controlled all three branches (presidency, Senate and House). During those periods, the government is essentially paralyzed and many of the most important problems facing us cannot be addressed. When one party does take control, policy swings wildly only to be contradicted when the other party gets control. The dysfunction has drained what little public trust has remained for government, putting us at even higher risk for increasing political violence and/or autocratic takeover.
The solution — multiparty democracy — is clear. Let’s begin to build it.
Next: The Fair Representation Act: A Legislative Path to Multiparty Democracy
