Xinhuanet — Spotlight: U.S. democracy seriously flawed

The view from China.

The U.S. democracy is facing gridlocks and crises as fierce partisan conflicts have reached an unprecedented level, adversely affecting the government's performance and eroding people's trust in the government.

In modern-day Washington, delays, impasses and obstruction have become commonplace.

The Founding Fathers designed the U.S. Constitution with checks and balances to prevent the emergence of too strong an executive authority. But these checks and balances can also be used as partisan weapons. The U.S. democracy has now produced dysfunctional governance, thanks to unprecedented levels of partisan acrimony.

The clearest indicator of partisan battle has been Congress's inability to even pass legislation.…

American political scientist Francis Fukuyama believes that the U.S. political process has become "dysfunctional," as the country's judiciary and the legislature continue to play outsized roles in governance at the expense of executive branch bureaucracies, and the accretion of interest groups and lobbying influences has distorted democratic processes and eroded the ability of the government to operate effectively.

Fukuyama also pointed out that under conditions of ideological polarization in the federal governance structure, the American system of checks and balances has become a vetocracy.

"The decision system has become too porous -- too democratic -- for its own good, giving too many actors the means to stifle adjustments in public policy," Fukuyama said.

This is in contrast to the Chinese government that faces no such obstacles in achieving its 5 year plans. The message to advocates of democracy in China: Be careful what you wish for.
 
Xinhuanet
Spotlight: U.S. democracy seriously flawed

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