American political system： merits and demerits

【Abstract】In this paper I will introduce the American political system briefly， then interpret its advantage and disadvantage. This paper will focus on the incredible political capital contribution and the Political Lobbying Industry， mainly in K street of Washington， which the general public is not familiar with.

【Key words】American political system；funding system；lobbying industry；Washington K street

【作者簡介】蔡帥，南京師范大學國際文化教育學院。

I. Introduction

American political system is a system of checks and balances established by the Constitution， which is meant to prevent any of the three branches from having too much power. Each branch has certain controls over the over branches.

1.The background of American political culture

The first and the most important difference between American and other countries is that it is an Idea State while most countries in the world are Nation State. As we can see in the movies， as long as you agree with the idea of this country， you can become an American. Only you agree with the idea of this country， you will be an American.

The United States is a very diverse country. People from different nations gathered in new land， having the same dream or idea. Therefore， the democratic culture of the United States sprouted from the Mayflower.

After America won its independence from Great Britain， they found the king and the government are both bad. So in the American political culture， there is a native distrust of government power.

2.The separation of the three powers

Constitution of the United States established the countrys political system that is a model of separation of the three powers. Within the national government， power is divided among three branches： the legislative branch - Congress， the executive branch - President， and the judicial branch – Federal courts.

Constitution made sure that every power operates in a cage and these branches hold the keys of the cage to each other. As picture 1 shows.

II. Merits and demerits of American political system

Decentralization makes judicial （the courts）， legislation （parliament）， executive （administration） are mutually independent in the United States.

1.The best thing - check and balances

Separation of powers is to restrict power， prevent the abuse of power and prevent a state organ or personal dictatorship， thus ensuring national political stability.

Montesquieu thought that all powerful people are easy to abuse of power， this is a difficult experience of all ages. If we let the same person or the same organ exercise the three powers， namely the right to make laws， imply public right and private criminal sanctions decision， everything will become confused.

We can take a safe and brief conclusion from above that the separation of three powers can establish a mutual supervision and ensure the system of check and balances， showing the superiority of collaboration. As picture 2 shows.

2.The worst thing - low efficiency

However， the three powers is not completely clear dividing line.

The judicial authorities can use the power of interpretation of the constitution to change the actual judicial rules， so as to realize the functions of the so-called “second legislature”， or the so-called “shadow” legislation. As a result， the American legal rules can be carried out by an unelected institution changes.

Sometimes， this is a good thing， such as the Supreme Court had ruled segregation is illegal， accelerating the social development. But this is not always good. The Court also once determined black may not marry whites.

Actually， the legislative power is belong to the parliament. However， this “second legislation” behavior harms the parliaments general work efficiency. This is a typical example of American political systems low efficiency.

The original model of separation of powers is： the legislature for the people and administrative authorities defined boundaries， and the judicial authority is charge of this line. However， due to the importance of the cases in Anglo-American law system， and the fuzziness of the constitution， the judiciary interference of executive and legislative means have already been abused.

By the same token， the legislative branch can also interfere with the executive branch. For the principle of check and balance， the lower the efficiency of a branch， stakeholders will try to seek another branch to “quickly” to solve the problem. Once the latter formed practice， the power of branches will cross each others aspect， hindering their work.

As picture 3 show，the gears can cooperate with each other， also can block each other.

III. olitical capital contribution

Political capital contribution is a unique phenomenon in western democracy political system.

1.Background knowledge

Political contributions， referring to provide free of movable property， real estate， not quite for payment， debt relief， or other economic interests for the campaign or other political activities engaged in by individuals or groups.

2.s the political contribution equal to public bribery？

If we think contributions and donations in representative democracy as legal corruption， then it is too shallow understanding of a complex system， and perhaps even some kind od misunderstanding.

On this issue， opinions such as “It is a tradition for decades. ” or “money point of view” actually simplify this complex system which has gotten a long-term evolution.

The political contributions and donations which candidates who are running for office accepted will under the strict regulation. And must make public. In addition， the accepting donations is only used for the election， which can not be private.

Actually， American political context trade her power for money is not limited in the political contributions. In fact， contributions are to specifications， can be open and transparent， but legislative restricted.

A more serious problem is often difficult to specification limits. Such as the so-called “revolving door”， that is， senior American officials often become big business executives， getting high salary after retirement or defeat. And they always quit soon， then re-back to election. As picture 4 shows.

IV. Political Lobbying

Lobbying （also lobby） is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government， most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies.

1.The background knowledge of political lobbying

Lobbying， which derives from the “lobby” with the rest space， describing the lobbyists who are the representatives of interest groups waiting for politicians in government building hall， to sell their own position and attitude.

In the 1970s， lobbying expanded as a huge industry. K street formed the industry cluster in Washington， letting the street became a synonym for lobbying industry. As shows.

2.The lobbying： legal corruption or information exchange？

Lobby is not bribery and corruption. The interest groups shall not provide any material benefits for its lobbying politicians， even a gift.

The purpose of the lobbying industry is for politicians to fill the gap on the information. Take the congress as an example， lawmakers often only specializing in specific fields while need to comment on various issues， vote and bargaining. This requires them with external sources of information.

Although lobbying gave opportunity to each group selling narrow interests， but it is far from an anti-democratic system. If do not have a lobbying campaign to provide professional knowledge， the legislature can only develop and bill cases which is lack of technical details. Such legislation style will leave more discretion to bureaucracy.

However， any balancing forces are potential objects which needs to be taken under the checks and balances. As picture 5 shows.

V. Conclusion

American politics is an art of balances. The constitution divided power to each branch. This is good to prevent the occurrence of dictatorship. To a certain degree， it reflects the democracy and freedom. But at the same time it also produced a series of problems， such as branches are hardly to get effective cooperation， resulting in low efficiency.

And when a certain branch has strong trend， another branch must be supported to compete and suppress the other， which leads to confusion and redundancy of the political system.

References：

[1]弗朗西斯·福山.政治秩序與政治衰敗.

[2]The Fourth Revolution by John Micklethwait.