It should be stated that the politics in America is centered on the two political parties that have the greater amount of votes during elections, namely Democratic and Republican. The main difference between the competitive parties is to be found in their viewpoint concerning the burning issues, democratic or conservative.
Despite the fact that the political structure in the United States seems to be divided into two political parties, the third one can still influence the election process proving that politics is very controversial, and the situation may change rapidly.
People across the United States share the idea the two-party system should be changed as they notice that Republicans and Democrats have misunderstandings, and it influences the way they make decisions. It should be highlighted that people are sure that these parties are fighting for their interests and power, not taking into account the interests of the nation in general (Elleithee 2015, para. 2).
Mo Elleithee, the political strategist, is sure that having the third party in the Congress will not be a perfect solution. The key issue is that through the history of the United States third parties managed only to split votes, helping one party to succeed and another to fail (Elleithee 2015, para. 3). However, it should be pointed out that these facts did not force Republicans and Democrats to improve their working process.
Bernie Sanders, the head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is a democratic socialist (according to his words), and one of the longest-serving independent in the United State Congress. Sanders aims to become the president of the United Sates. According to the principle position he refused to be financially supported by corporations, approving only donations from his voters (Clines 2015, para. 4).
However, the fact that Bernie Sanders is a democratic socialist seems to be controversial. According to Lane Kenworthy, the professor of political science, the Sanders’s beliefs can be better described as a mixture of capitalistic, socialistic, and democratic (Barro 2015, para. 3).
The politician is sure that there is no need in nationalizing some mills and banks, for the economy to improve new approaches should be found and the mixture of the methods should be taken into account. It should be pointed out that social democracy requires the understanding of the significant role of the capitalism (Barro 2015, para. 5).
One of the best examples where the system of the democratic socialism works for the development of the economy is Denmark. High taxes and social programs were seen as a tool for the country’s improvement, and the government succeeded.
According to the philosophy of the Independent, the American society cannot be considered as a fair one. However, it is significant to make an accent that a lot of political theorists question the correct usage of the term democratic socialism. The great majority states that Sanders’s ideology is likely to be described as social democracy (Carswell 2015, para. 5).
Garrison Nelson, a politic professor, states that Sanders has a more flexible ideology that the pure socialism, “Bernie Sanders is a relatively mild version of socialism. There is no collectivized agriculture, nationalizing industries, no confiscation of people’s wealth, no one going off to gulags” (Carswell 2015, para. 4).
Sanders has to explain the peculiarities of his ideology to his voters and they are ready to listen; it is one of his advantages. By providing the audience the explanations, the politician spreads his beliefs and aims to help people in the understanding of the significance of the political changes.
As the matter of fact, third parties have some obstacles on the way to success. However, some members of Republican and Democratic Parties have developed their theory of political philosophy and see it as the only way for society to achieve social, economic, and political changes.
Rand Paul is a politician and physician; his medical background helps to evaluate the challenges that American healthcare system is facing. The member of the Republican Party states that his ideology can be compared to the constitutional conservative; however, he is commonly believed to share libertarianism, strongly supporting the individual rights. Being an active supporter of Tea Party flow, Rand demands the decreasing of taxes and finding a balance in the budget.
The libertarian, also, aims to ban abortion in all the cases (Rosenthal 2015, para. 5). However, the politician sees the difference between his attitude towards issues and the governmental response. He does not let his beliefs to guide his decisions; although, Rand is against same-sex marriage, he is sure that the fact that some people have different preferences should be taken into account.
The same-sex marriage should not be banned at the federal level as every state should decide whether to ban it or not. Libertarianism advocates the freedom in all of the aspects, namely individual rights, economy, and political decisions.
In conclusion, it should be stated that the issue concerning the third parties in the United Sates seems to be very controversial. However, it should be taken into account that third parties are not supported enough, and that is, the only thing they achieve is a splitting of the votes.
Although, there is no doubt that the economic and political system should be improved, there is a possibility that the third parties will not change the situation; in that case Republicans and Democrats should advance their working process and the way the significant decisions and practices should be implemented.
Bibliography
Barro, Josh. “What Does Sanders Mean by ‘Democratic Socialist’?” The New York Times, 2015, sec. A.
Carswell, Simon. “Campaign by Sanders Shows Socialism No Longer Dirty Word in US Politics; Vermont Senator Plans a Bigger Sell of His ‘democratic Socialism’ Brand.” The Irish Times, 2015, World sec.
Clines, Francis. “Senator Bernie Sanders’s Impressively Modest Donors.” The New York Times, 2015, Opinion sec.
Elleithee, Mo. “Third Parties Have Divided, Rather Than United, Us.” The New York Times, 2015.
Rosenthal, Andrew. “Rand Paul’s Fake Flat Tax.” The New York Times, 2015, Opinion sec.