Essay on Plurality Voting System and Political Knowledge

Submitted By haiyendido
Words: 296
Pages: 2

1. How does public opinion influence people to hold beliefs that are inconsistent with the platforms of either of the two major parties?
People do not generate opinions spontaneously; they learn them. This can originate in early childhood where they’re exposed to a mélange of social environments, groups, and individuals, all of these leave their feature on person opinions. Once these opinions are generated it’s hard to form a different opinion and it hurts to be proved that your opinions are wrong. However, when the facts change some individuals change their mind when it becomes clear that you should.
2. Knowing the above, what does this say about political knowledge in the US and the ability of the media to shape that knowledge?
The media plays a significant role in modern society and can shape the public’s political knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. People generally learn about politics and the government from television, the internet, and newspapers. The media has a positive impact on individuals’ level of political knowledge and information, however, this is weak compared to more enduring influences like education prior to political interest.
3. Does Duverger’s law mean that we can only have two parties? Or are there alternatives within the two party system?
Duverger’s law asserts that plurality rule elections structured within single-member districts tend to favor a two-party system. This is one of two hypotheses proposed by Duverger, the second stating that