des equal opportunities. That means that every person has the same chance to succeed in life. Many believe that in order to achieve social equality, it is essential that people actually end up being equal. This is referred to as equality of outcome.Roles of the PartiesPolitical parties are groups of individuals organized for the purpose of winning control of the government by winning elections. They are different from interest groups in that interest groups have narrower interests and try and persuade government policy not control government policy. Parties contribute to democratic government through the functions they perform for the political system. Political parties select individuals to run for public office through a nomination process, which designates them as the partys official candidate. This again is different from interest groups who support candidates but they do not nominate them to run as their representatives. The four most important party functions are nominating candidates for election to public office, structuring the voting choice in elections, coordinating the actions of government officials, and proposing alternative government programs.Why only Two Parties?Why are there only two political parties in the American political system? First, the Electoral College plays a role. The Electoral College consists of a group of electors chosen for the sole purpose of selecting the President. Each state legislature chooses a number of electors equal to the number of its representatatives in Congress. That elector then votes for President. This process eliminates the popular vote and gives all states, with large or small populations, the same voice in the selection process. With the Electoral College, you need a majority to run the government and each political party is considered a majoritarian institute. Second, the United States members of The House of Representatives are chosen from single-member districts, a...
