e, is low and, since the early 1960s, has been declining overall.The “winner-take-all” system in elections may be criticized for being undemocratic because the proportion of people agreeing with a particular candidate on a certain issue may not be adequately represented under this system. For example, a candidate who gets 40 percent of the vote, as long as he gets more votes than any other candidate, can be elected—even though sixty percent of the voters voted against him.Political parties in America are weak due to the anti-party, anti-organization, and anti-politics cultural prejudices of the Classical Liberals. Because in the U.S. there is no national discipline to force citizens into identifying with a political party, partisan identification tends to be an informal psychological commitment to a party. This informality allows people to be apathetic if they wish, willingly giving up their input into the political process. Though this apathy is the result of greater freedom in America than in other countries, it ultimately decreases citizens’ incentive to express their opinions about issues, therefore making democracy less legitimate.Private interests distort public policy making because, when making decisions, politicians must take account of campaign contributors. An “interest” may be defined as “any involvement in anything that affects the economic, social, or emotional well-being of a person.” When interests become organized into groups, then politicians may become biased due to their influences. Consequently, those people who do not become organized into interest groups are likely to be underrepresented financially. This leads to further inequality and, therefore, greater illegitimacy in the democratic system.The method in which we elect the President is fairly legitimate. The Electoral College consists of representatives who we elect, who then elect the president. Because this fill...
