US Political Agenda Distanced from Public Interests

Since the financial crisis began, U.S. politics has had to go through one chaotic mess after another — partisan conflict, the government shutdown, the debt ceiling, the fiscal cliff and other types of predicaments that have eroded away the glowing halo of “American-style” democracy — the underlying causes of which are worth investigating.

First, the U.S. has been at the breaking point in a growing period of conflict. According to the theories of Arthur Schlesinger, a U.S. historian, the United States will undergo a restructuring or a regional political change once every 20 years, manifesting as a cyclic alternation in internal structure. The current cycle, as a whole, has been dominated by the Democratic Party and Clinton-era moderates. Even during the Bush administration, social issues still progressed; conservatism reflected an “expanding” government, which to some extent respected the period of inertia. Liberal policies implemented with Obama’s election intensified social conflicts and political interests, and strengthened the degree of polarization that split society during the periodic change in political power.

Second, the American political system has created flexibility that is superfluous. The U.S. political system is extremely complex and has numerous conflicts. The U.S. Constitution is in principle a national standard, having authority on a federal level and in the creation of state systems. Multiple interests that are involved in the political system have directly led to an excess in flexibility of the system. America’s “unusual” demarcation system allows the state legislature to divide the House of Representative’s state constituencies; some states divide to ensure the election of ethnic minority representatives, and some states divide constituencies in order to ensure that a party’s interests are safe. Party members also maintain long terms in office, which has led directly to the current polarization plight in Washington. The system’s flexibility has thus led to an excess of negative political consequences.

Third, the U.S. political agenda has gradually drifted from national and public interests. Conflicts reflect different partisan political and economic interests, externalizing the political and economic disagreements of the elites. Recent election cycles have been lengthened, which has raised campaign funds dramatically. American politics has been increasingly driven by the few and the wealthy. Leaders and legislators who advance political agendas are thus bound to comply with these elite interests, even at the expense of national and public interests.

American political chaos is the result of defects within “American-style” democracy. The United States has repeatedly attempted to improve these fundamental problems, but in the long run, its methods of trying to improve the system will only lead to greater and more serious risks in the future.