Question

The American model has been in decline for some time. Since the mid-1990s, U.S. politics has become increasingly polarized and gridlocked, making it impossible to perform basic government functions, such as passing the budget. There are obvious problems with the American system — the contamination of politics by money, the influence of a voting system that is increasingly inconsistent with democratic choice — but the country seems incapable of reforming itself. Early crisis periods such as the Civil War and the Great Depression produced visionary institution-building leaders; this was not the case in the first decades of the 21st century, when U.S. policymakers directed two catastrophes—the Iraq war and the subprime mortgage financial crisis — and then witnessed the emergence of a short-sighted demagogue stoking an angry populist movement.

Answer 1

What are some reasons for the decline of the American model?

There are several reasons for the decline of the American model. One reason is the increasing polarization and gridlock in U.S. politics since the mid-1990s, which has made it difficult to perform basic government functions such as passing the budget. Another reason is the contamination of politics by money, which has influenced the voting system and made it increasingly inconsistent with democratic choice. Additionally, the country seems incapable of reforming itself, despite obvious problems with the American system. Finally, early crisis periods in American history produced visionary institution-building leaders, but this has not been the case in the first decades of the 21st century, which has led to two major catastrophes—the Iraq war and the subprime mortgage financial crisis— and the emergence of a short-sighted demagogue stoking an angry populist movement.