The persistence of a two-party system has both positive and negative effects on the function of American democracy. The parties contribute to the organization and operation of the government. Many of the positions in the congress are a function of the two-party system, such as Majority and Minority leaders, and Chairs and Ranking members on committees. If there were three or more parties in the government, then it would be more difficult to determine authority for these positions.
In all likelihood, multiple parties would require the creation of a coalition in order to achieve majority status. This would water down the goals of anyone party and make it harder to achieve anything that was not mutually agreeable to all members of the coalition. Additionally, political parties focus on public perception of responsibility for governmental actions. For example, since one of the two major parties is always the majority party, the public can easily applaud and blame that party for actions taken by congress.
Accordingly, the public can then make their electoral decisions based on if they liked or disliked the actions taken by the previous congress. In a binary system, voting against one party is the same as a vote for the other. This has the effect of simplifying the choices that an individual needs to make in order to participate in the democratic process. Third parties would muddy the water and possibly make it more difficult for the public to hold elected officials accountable as a group. However, there are several circumstances created by the two-party system which detract from the American democratic system. As a result of there only being two viable candidates for every position, fewer voices can be heard on any particular issue.
Therefore, the full diversity of ideas may not be expressed, but rather the extreme positions on either side. For example, imagine a ten-point scale that represents all possible positions on a particular issue. If one party’s position is 7, then it is likely the other party’s position is a 3 in order to counterbalance the issue and pick up additional support. However, voices that represent the middle positions (4-6) or the extreme positions (8-10, 0-2) are not represented as electoral options. Therefore, assuming that from a position of objectivity all policy positions have as likely of a chance to succeed, it is statistically unlikely that one of the two parties represents the best policy option.
Furthermore, parties can detract from democratic goals by “capturing” government; by making the government function in such a way that it serves the interest of the party instead of the interest of the general good. All things considered, the final outcome of a democracy ought to be the government that best serves the interests of the people. However, if a party is elected because 50%+1 of the population believes in a policy that will only benefit 50%+1 of the population, then the government has become nothing more than a tyrannical majority.