That's not what the word "coup" means. A coup is the overthrow of the current political system by actors exploiting power from outside that system (extralegal violence). It is not someone using their lawful powers under that system to produce unwanted outcomes.
Why is polarization necessarily bad and should be avoided? I don’t think freedom could be maintained in such a large and diverse country like the US without a significant degree of factionalism (you mentioned Federalist 10; could add 53 as well).
The Netherlands are ok because they have (not sure if that’ll be maintained) a high degree of cultural homogeneity (the norms that ensure freedom of speech with terrible constitutional protections). Once you get a country like Canada (even worse constitutional protections) that is diversifying rapidly and is more influenced by all things American like woke, MAGA, etc., you start to see liberties going down the drain.
Same with diverse countries (as in without many common norms) with proportional representation and weak constitutionalism like Israel. Goes to shit pretty quickly when everyone hates each other. :)
I don’t see why America’s system doesn’t work. Your logic (if I understood you correctly) is essentially that the separation of powers doesn’t function as was intended by the founders, because you have a two-party system instead of a three-branch government with three branches being independent from each other.
1. The judiciary is independent by virtue of having long-serving judges. This means that they are often at odds with the other two branches (and even with both parties).
2. You assume that the two parties in America are locked in a zero-sum fight for dominance. I think that’s only partly true. The in-fighting within them is such that they consist of quite a few factions that satisfy Federalist 10. You even get changing allegiances and positions within the factional structure (e.g. half of Trump’s appointees are ex-Dems).
3. Why is the system dysfunctional? Your main argument is that it doesn’t work as intended. So what? It still seems to mostly work. America is one of the richest countries in the world, has some of the best technology, true protections of some fundamental freedoms, etc. It has all the basics necessary for capitalism to do its magic and social programs that stop people from starving to death. Other countries with similar cultures that don’t have checks and balances (like Canada) experience way more dysfunction both at the level of fundamental rights (e.g. freedom of speech) and at the level of economic development (e.g. the housing crisis).
I like your approach and your overview is quite insightful. But I don’t think you’ve substantiated your controversial claim strongly enough.
That's not what the word "coup" means. A coup is the overthrow of the current political system by actors exploiting power from outside that system (extralegal violence). It is not someone using their lawful powers under that system to produce unwanted outcomes.
Why is polarization necessarily bad and should be avoided? I don’t think freedom could be maintained in such a large and diverse country like the US without a significant degree of factionalism (you mentioned Federalist 10; could add 53 as well).
The Netherlands are ok because they have (not sure if that’ll be maintained) a high degree of cultural homogeneity (the norms that ensure freedom of speech with terrible constitutional protections). Once you get a country like Canada (even worse constitutional protections) that is diversifying rapidly and is more influenced by all things American like woke, MAGA, etc., you start to see liberties going down the drain.
Same with diverse countries (as in without many common norms) with proportional representation and weak constitutionalism like Israel. Goes to shit pretty quickly when everyone hates each other. :)
The cultural homgeneity of the Netherlands during prior to secularisation is grossly overstated. Catholic and Protestant cultures where very distinct.
Factionalism isn't the problem. Having a constitutional system that does not work in factional times is the problem.
I don’t see why America’s system doesn’t work. Your logic (if I understood you correctly) is essentially that the separation of powers doesn’t function as was intended by the founders, because you have a two-party system instead of a three-branch government with three branches being independent from each other.
1. The judiciary is independent by virtue of having long-serving judges. This means that they are often at odds with the other two branches (and even with both parties).
2. You assume that the two parties in America are locked in a zero-sum fight for dominance. I think that’s only partly true. The in-fighting within them is such that they consist of quite a few factions that satisfy Federalist 10. You even get changing allegiances and positions within the factional structure (e.g. half of Trump’s appointees are ex-Dems).
3. Why is the system dysfunctional? Your main argument is that it doesn’t work as intended. So what? It still seems to mostly work. America is one of the richest countries in the world, has some of the best technology, true protections of some fundamental freedoms, etc. It has all the basics necessary for capitalism to do its magic and social programs that stop people from starving to death. Other countries with similar cultures that don’t have checks and balances (like Canada) experience way more dysfunction both at the level of fundamental rights (e.g. freedom of speech) and at the level of economic development (e.g. the housing crisis).
I like your approach and your overview is quite insightful. But I don’t think you’ve substantiated your controversial claim strongly enough.
Absolutely true:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/uW77FSphM6yiMZTGg/why-not-parliamentarianism-book-by-tiago-ribeiro-dos-santos
I want to add a bit more: a good democracy is based not in majority, but in true vote trading:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/uW77FSphM6yiMZTGg/why-not-parliamentarianism-book-by-tiago-ribeiro-dos-santos
I allow for that in my piece.
CTRL+F "autocracy"