Are Political Parties Getting Stronger or Weaker? Essay (Critical Writing)

Introduction

Before I attempt to answer this question, I want to define the political party as I see it. A political party, in general, is a decision-making entity, the instrument of democracy, and an institution for the public to advance their causes through electing representatives. My personal belief is that the decision-making aspect of the party is getting weaker due to the prevalence of wealthy interest groups that sometimes do not serve the interest of the constituency.

Main body

The democratic institution of the party is increasingly becoming less influential. Many people believe that corporate lobbyists are the real decision-making body in the American political system. For example, the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which makes it more difficult to declare bankruptcy on student loans, was supported by lobbyists from the finance industry. The act is the reason for the increasing college tuition that essentially forces people into debt. It benefits banking interest groups at the expense of the citizens that elected the legislators in the first place.

Conclusion

Additionally, the recent Net Neutrality scandal made the power that businesses hold over American politics very apparent. The key figure, Ajit Pai, was widely known to have worked for Verizon, one of the beneficiaries of the legislation, but was still allowed to hold the position of the Chairman of FCC. That is to say nothing of the $5.5 million that Verizon has donated through its PAC to various political candidates (“Verizon Communications: Summary”, 2019). Newell, Prindle and Riddlesberg (2016) maintain that “the presence of PACs makes that [political] advantage even more lopsided and unfair” (p. 68), and I agree.

It is for these reasons that I believe the political party to be a weak decision-making body. The elections may get even more expensive, and those that do not serve the interest groups will not be able to afford their votes. Something needs to be done, but with legislation often dictated by the interest groups, it is unlikely that any law that harms them will pass muster.

References

1. Newell, C., Prindle, D.F., & Riddlesberg, J.W., Jr. (2016). Texas Politics, 13th Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
2. Verizon Communications: Summary. (2019). Web.