The United States should look toward other countries for examples of diverse political representation.
Election day is Tuesday. Wednesday night, the third Republican presidential debate took place. The primary elections are less than five months away.
Politics are ringing in my ears, and all I hear is Republican vs. Democrat. I’m sick of it.
George Washington famously opposed political parties. He was worried that parties would threaten unity in the nation and serve only their members, not the nation as a whole. He was right.
Though I don’t think there should be one singular political entity to represent all constituents, having only two major parties represent the variety of opinions Americans hold is just as limiting.
Other parties exist and fight to be heard, but they rarely win. Our government is run by this polarized two-party system, and it’s running it into the ground.
Two-party dominance may be common in America, but it's not in many other places in the world. Let’s look at a couple of those places.
The Reputation Institute recently released its sixth annual “The World’s Most Reputable Countries” list, which ranks the 55 countries with the highest GDPs, according to Forbes. Canada ranked No. 1.
Compared to the United States, which ranked No. 22, Canada is physically a bit larger. Its population is about 35 million, according to the CIA World Factbook.
In the last 40 years, there have been eight Canadian prime ministers (though one of these eight served two non-consecutive terms). Four have been Liberals, three have been Progressive Conservatives, and the current prime minister is a Conservative. The next prime minister taking office, having won Canada’s election last week, is a Liberal.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="caca7818-7857-11e5-b1e0-5736cb48cccb"}}
According to the BBC’s analysis of that most recent election, the 338 seats of Canada’s Parliament will be held by members of five different parties. That was also true of the 308 seats held after the 2011 election.
The population of the United States in 2014 was roughly 318.9 million, according to the Census Bureau.
In the last 40 years, there have been seven U.S. presidents. Three have been Democrats, including current president Barack Obama, and four have been Republicans.
In Congress, 533 of the 535 members are Democrats and Republicans. Two senators are independents, but caucus with the Democratic party, including presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, according to the Senate’s website.
Canada is a larger country with fewer people, yet Canadians have more diverse political representation in their government than we do.
Let’s take an even closer look by turning to Ohio.
Denmark ranked No. 8 on the Reputation Institute’s list. Denmark is roughly 37 percent the size of Ohio. The country’s population is 5.58 million.
In the last 40 years, there have been six Danish prime ministers (the current prime minister previously served a nonconsecutive term). Three have been Social Democrats, two have been Liberals (including the incumbent), and one was a Conservative.
There are 179 Parliament members who belong to a total of 12 political parties.
Ohio’s population in 2014 was roughly 11.59 million, according to the United States Census Bureau.
In the last 40 years, there have been seven Ohio governors. Two have been Democrats and five have been Republicans, including current governor and presidential candidate John Kasich.
All 132 members of the Ohio General Assembly are Democrats and Republicans, according to its website.
Though only a fraction of Ohio’s size and population, Denmark boasts a much more diverse government that can better represent its people and their varying opinions.
Let that sink in: Ohio has more than twice as many people as Denmark and only two parties represented compared to Denmark’s 12!
If Ohioans and all Americans had more options to choose from when voting for who represents them, perhaps the political terrain would be more welcoming of true change and bi- or multi-partisan efforts. Issues and people are too complex for only two options. Our elections should take a page from other countries’ books and reflect that.
Erin Davoran is a senior studying journalism. What do you think of political parties? Tweet her @erindavoran or email her at ed414911@ohio.edu.
