A Parliamentary Democracy as an Amendment to the U.S Constitution

The current American governance system is far from what democracy represents. When people vote for change in a democracy, things are expected to change for the better. This has not been the case in America for a long time, the election do not reflect the will of the popular (Appelbaum, 2015). The American constitution is much like a traditional mixed monarchy, where the president is more like a powerful king. There are two legislature houses that are elected by the people and they are the law makers. The president however has the power to veto the legislatures. The president can elect his own cabinet, make treaties and even command the army. The constitution of U.S is fragile and it needs a particular set of political norms to be effective. When the norms are not present, the system can be dysfunctional (Appelbaum, 2015). American culture is evolving and so politics are becoming increasingly polarized causing the constitutional system to be dysfunctional.

America needs a parliamentary system of government; this is a system that is functional in most continents for instance Europe and South Asia. A parliamentary system is branded by executives that known as the prime ministers, they derive their legitimacy from an assembly known as the parliament (Manuel & Cammisa, 2019).A member of the legislature is normally selected to be the head of government and he or she is also held responsible of the legislature. The executive is separate from the president who is the head of state; he is the leader of the executive branch that has the greatest power and is separate from the legislative branch. Having the prime minister accountable to the legislature is effective in governance. For one it means that the executive and his or her government have similar thinking with the majority legislators (Heer, 2017). The holdup that is happening in U.S where the president has different thinking with the majority congress that come from a different party cannot happen in a parliamentary system.

A parliamentary system is flexible in that it can easily replace the leaders that are not performing, the prime ministers are just members chosen to lead in government, so they can easily be demoted and another one chosen (Manuel & Cammisa, 2019). This is unlike the current system in U.S where the people are stuck with their leader because he or she cannot easily be impeached (Heer, 2017). The parliamentary system is less fixed in terms of duration, allowing for new parliaments to be called in change of circumstances. This system allows good governments to last longer depending on their success and popularity.

One disadvantage with a parliamentary system is the fact that it reduces the influence of the minority; the minority parties that are not part of the coalition do not really have a voice in the legislative body (Manuel & Cammisa, 2019). The majority coalitions can easily act on legislation without listening to the minority, which could shift the country’s politics and nothing can be done about it until the next elections. Another disadvantage is that it reduces the levels of direct representation. Though communities are represented by their candidates in the legislative body, the presence of a coalition reduced the impact of diversity and the impact of the voter’s voice (Manuel & Cammisa, 2019).

The United States needs major constitutional restructuring, to create a constitution that is logic and one that is democratic. A parliamentary democracy is more functional and it is the best solution for the major political problems that are facing the U.S today.  U.S is a diverse society and it requires a governance system that allows for diversity. A parliamentary democracy allows for diversity, with the understanding that diversity within a society is strength.

 

 

 

References

Appelbaum, Y. (2015, September 13). America's Fragile Constitution. Retrieved from

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/our-fragile-constitution/403237/.

Heer, J. (2017, July 29). Why American Democracy Is Broken, and How to Fix It. Retrieved

            from https://newrepublic.com/article/144089/american-democracy-broken-fix.

Manuel, P. C., & Cammisa, A. M. (2019). Checks and balances?: How a parliamentary

            system could change American politics.