Madison’s separation of powers
Madison’s separation of powers has worked too well in recent decades, some would say. It seems that Congresses and our Presidents are increasingly unable to find compromises to pass legislation needed by the Republic.
What do you think? Is our government in permanent gridlock? If so, is that a good or bad thing? Comment in detail.
Sample Solution
I believe that in recent decades the separation of powers outlined by Madison has indeed been too successful, with Congress and the President becoming increasingly unable to come together to pass legislation (Madison, 1788). This gridlock is largely caused by partisan divisions within both branches of government which can prevent any kind of bipartisanship from forming – a product of our current two-party system (Lichter & Gilliam, 2000).
The lack of compromise between these two branches has resulted in a wide range of issues from stalemates on key legislative initiatives involving health care or economic measures, to paralysis when it comes to responding quickly or effectively to crises such as pandemics (Gilligan et al., 2017). Ultimately this gridlock then leads to public dissatisfaction with their representatives due to perceived inaction on important matters.
Whether this gridlock is necessarily good or bad depends then largely on individual perspective. On one hand; if there is no consensus across party lines then its difficult for meaningful progress towards resolving pressing issues like climate change or income inequality. On the other though; if Congress and the President are unable to agree on solutions then they might be prevented from enacting policies which cause more harm than good. That being said – while having some level gridlock can help protect us against hasty decision making – too much could lead us into deeper levels of political dysfunction where nothing gets done at all (Gilligan et al., 2017).
In conclusion; I think that our government has become locked into an unsustainable state due primarily divide between parties which prevents them from achieving bipartisan agreement on policy measures. While some gridlock may be beneficial in certain instances – excessive amounts can ultimately result in stagnation and public dissatisfaction with elected officials who cannot seem find common ground for productive discourse (Lichter & Gilliam, 2000).
