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US 250 Anniv
Democracy
Pew Research

“We looked at key aspects of the world’s 106 democracies (as defined by expert ratings from three organizations) to see how they compare with the U.S. and vice versa. Here are eight ways the U.S. political system differs from most – or all – of its peers.” - Pew Research

Discussion

Mon, 07/06/26

One thing PEW doesn't touch on, but which drives a lot of the difference is that the United States is not just a country like the other countries of the world. It is a balance between a Federal Government and 50 States. That is probably its most unique and defining element. When viewed through that lens, items like the electoral college and Washington DC make more sense. The founders were creating a government that was balancing between power in the states and power in the federal government. It was not trying to create a country where the majority won, but one in which states were represented. There is such dichotomy in this country between lets say a rancher in Montana and a social media influencer in New York City. If we went only with the majority, many States would be ignored. In fact, in many cases national candidates could ignore them entirely. No need to worry about the people in Montana, I am just going to focus on California and New York, with maybe a jaunt to Florida and Texas.