General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Does the two-Party system help or hurt our country ?? [View all]gratuitous
(82,849 posts)A two-party system fosters and encourages binary thinking, as if there are only two sides to a question or issue. Sometimes that's the case, but when there are a multiplicity of options to choose from, the party that doesn't settle on just one option loses the debate/argument/issue, because the other party will indeed (particularly if it appeals to a top-down, authoritarian mindset) settle on just one option.
So, we get nonsense like "No drugs should be legalized" fighting against "No drugs should be prohibited." If you're looking for nuance and a carefully-weighed solution, both sides will savage you as a sell-out. The only alternative to going to war in this binary system is doing nothing, confusing "pacifism" with being "passive." So, off to war we go! Again and again. Carefully considered solutions lose out to instant, insistent position-taking.