The American Way Still Beats Parliamentary Government

The examples of Britain and other democratic systems remind us why ours is still the best.

The good old American system of electing our leaders comes in for a lot of grief these days, but looking around the global landscape, the fall of Liz Truss after just 45 days in office is further proof, if any was needed, of the superiority of the American presidential system to parliamentary systems of government. The British Westminster parliamentary system is also used by Israel and by most former British colonies, including Canada, India, and Australia. Other parliamentary systems, such as those of Japan, Germany, and Italy, are distinct from the Westminster system, but each of them shares some of its flaws.

Critics of the American system tend to advance three main arguments: that it’s not democratic enough, that it’s not efficient enough, and that it promotes a polarizing two-party duopoly. The argument about democracy is that the president is elected by 51 popular elections in the states and D.C., which are not evenly weighted, while the Senate is elected by 100 popular elections in the states, which are not close to being evenly weighted. It is therefore not only possible but expected that presidencies and Senate majorities will be built from national popular pluralities or even, at times, minorities.