> America
The American government, you mean.
The American government, you mean.
I don't understand the "viable alternative" arguement. You are saying "I won't vote for who I really want to vote, because they'll never win, because everyone else won't vote for them" <--- Is that what you mean? That seems self defeating.
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With preferential voting (or similar), you actually have the realistic probability of more than one party being in power. Here in Australia, the current government is formed from one major party, one minor party, and a couple of independents. It's not just 'mathematically possible', but a plausible outcome. That can't really happen with FPTP voting. Well, it can happen, but it's an oddity - see the current situation in the UK with the lib dems.
"I won't vote for who I really want to vote, because they'll never win, because everyone else won't vote for them"
The problem here is that by voting for someone whom you slightly prefer, you split the vote in a FPTP system, making them both lose out to the third person you didn't want in. If 60% of the population want a left-wing candidate, and they're split evenly-ish, they'll still lose out to the single right-wing candidate who only has 40%. It sounds self-defeating on paper, but in real terms it's more like self-preservation.
The other problem with systems that settle to two-party systems is that swing voters hold a disproportionate amount of power... which is ironic, given that the swing voters are usually not as politically interested as bloc supporters.
>>> that swing voters hold a disproportionate amount of power
How is it a bad thing? You say people that actually look at the issues at hand and not just mindlessly pull the lever for "our guy" whoever he is hold "disproportionate amount of power". I say they should hold 100% of the power - or 100% of the voters should be like this. The fact that they aren't is exactly the problem!
>>> given that the swing voters are usually not as politically interested as bloc supporters.
"Politically interested" can mean different thing. If bloc voters' only interest is getting "their guy" in power, and keep him there whatever happens, I don't have any sympathy for such kind of political interest. And if you want to see how well it works for those bloc voters, see how well it worked for voters in Detroit or Chicago, who are constantly voting in crooks and mob men.
No, America has strong American roots. Democracies and Republics both corrupt themselves over time.
America is unlike any other nation on earth, it's a hybrid, a democratic republic.