The US Elections Explained: The Two Party System

In this LSE US Centre Election Explainer, Dr Nick Anstead discusses the history, evolution and the potential future of the two party system in American politics.

[SebbDahl]

Why is this still a thing, Americans? Vote third party. I'm from Norway, where we have 8 parties. One party will rarely have more than 50% of the votes, and so this makes them dependent on working together with other parties to become a majority. So the outcome of an election can be for example that the conservative party have to work together with the green party and the anti-immigrant party to be in power. This is a good thing because every major issue is being representet and listened to.

[thehillshaveaviators]

The two party system is trash. Long live the multi-party

[dankmemestein]

When you say "there is no equivalent to a far right party in the United States that you find in European countries, " you're comparing apples to oranges. The Republican Party is FAR more like UKIP than the Conservative Party in the UK. Most European far right parties align better with the Republican Party than do mainstream conservative European parties. It's just based on the fact that the US electorate is more right leaning.

[Alan.Endicott]

Two thoughts: 1) We have additional parties, but they fail primarily because the momentarily successful ones are driven by a personality or an issue. When the personality leaves the stage, or the issue fades or is in some way co-opted by one of the two major parties, the rationale for its existence evaporates. Consider the Reform Party, which resulted from Perot's 19 percent performance in 1992 and was driven by concern for the national debt. Perot left the stage, and concern for the debt ebbed after Congress maintained budget surpluses between 1998 and 2001. By 2008 the Reform Party was effectively dead. 2) The two major parties have factions within them that represent constituencies that have concluded they would have less policy success on the issues most important to them outside the party than within. That's primarily the reason you don't see a thriving Green Party or Constitution Party, because they essentially exists as the environmental faction of the Democratic Party and the conservative faction of the Republican Party.

[GravityBoy]

Two parties?
Two wings of the same party.
Pro-corporations, pro-bankers.

[rbwinn]

If Washington and Adams were advising American voters not to start or support political parties, what should we call the voters to whom they were giving this advice? I would call them independent voters because they were voters created by the writing and adoption of the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of the states that held the elections. They did not not belong to political parties. They had a Constitutional basis for their existence, something political parties will never have. As George Washington once said, political parties are "self-created societies".
What Democrats and Republicans are neglecting to mention right now is that the latest statistics show that 49% of American voters are registered outside of the two-party system, up from a single digit percentage when John F. Kennedy was President. When Dwight D. Eisenhower was President, over half of American voters were Democrats, 54%. Thirty six percent were Republicans.
The two-party system is in desperate circumstances. By the time the 2024 election takes place, the two-party system will be a minority in American government.

[raggedyman]

An excellent overview. Thank you. Pre-Civil War parties and sentiments were varied and dynamic (short lived). There remains significant differences of interests and philosophy within the two dominant American parties.

[sirsmith]

so how then can a president from one party still lose the house?

[kristss]

I dont get it.... how they came to 2-party-system... Here we have 9 parties

[ywgh]

0:47 that bit about "southern voters" really diminishing for both 1) republicans, for applying some historic stereotype to modern day and 2) democrats, who are from southern states.

[keepingbloodpuretypenation]

This should not be called 2 party system, this should be called 2 party dictatorship, it is same as calling china one party system instead of dictatorship
Yes third parties are allowed to run but north korea also allows that

[curtisrader]

transitiion to 0:45 does not math previous slides. you flipped the democrats and republicans views and ideals

[Phono-fun]

The traditional Whigs political animal symbol was a Raccoon not a an owl... (The modern recreation of the party is an owl.)

[marshal]

Demonstrate vs Republican...they won't allow third parties. They will tolerate one another though. You think this isn't the case...then you don't pay attention...to US news.

[adamapkarian]

The idea is that European parties are rigid on their ideals thus needing more parties to cover the gaps, where the two parties in America are very flexible and malleable.

[zuutlmna]

We have no Progress with existing two parties. Rapid evolving tech./science does not define Progress in my opinion. The stalemate created by the great divide between the two parties is the source of lack of Progress, in my opinion. In fact, I think we're experiencing regress, instead. Isn't that somewhat akin to the definition of insanity? Same thinking but expecting change?

[rabbitvd]

Calling blue collar workers democrat is wild

[mikesilverii]

“There’s no equivalent to a far right party” Have you SEEN the Republican Party? They’re the far-right, and the Democrats are right-wing

[devilhunterx]

yo, can someone give me 10-15 facts very much appreciated? this video I'm studying and need a little bit of help on what to study?

[transistor]

I love your ineptitude. "Are you for us or against us"... The reason USA has a two party system is because the average American can't do math beyond 2. "Are you for us or against us" remember that? No modern person in USA knows their own history so People like the King of Bling actually exist. A60ph15H154itl3r was the last nearly successful exponent.