Polarized pluralism

Polarized pluralism

Polarized pluralism is a symptom of a sick two-party or multi-party political system. It was originally described by political philosopher Sartori, and defines a system where moderate views are replaced by polarized views.

In a typical two-plus, two-party, or multi-party system, the distribution of party power looks like a slightly skewed normal curve. Most of the country is moderate or moderate-leaning liberal or conservative. If the country suffers polarized pluralism, then the curve is more like a bimodal distribution, with the power at the far political left and right ends, and a severe dip in the middle; one side will have more influence than the other, creating a strong trend to follow them. The extremist group with the most control eventually gains full control of the state; compromises eventually become nonexistent, and the controlling power tramples the opposition on all issues.

Polarized pluralism was visible immediately preceding the Nazi era in Germany. The country had a strong support for communism, but a slightly but significantly stronger support for the Nazi party. Communism lies on the far left, while the Nazi party lies on the far right, associated with fascism.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Italy — /it l ee/, n. a republic in S Europe, comprising a peninsula S of the Alps, and Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, and other smaller islands: a kingdom 1870 1946. 57,534,088; 116,294 sq. mi. (301,200 sq. km). Cap.: Rome. Italian, Italia. * * * Italy… …   Universalium

  • Multi-party system — Part of the Politics series Party politics Political spectrum …   Wikipedia

  • Pythagoreans and Eleatics — Edward Hussey PYTHAGORAS AND THE EARLY PYTHAGOREANS Pythagoras, a native of Samos, emigrated to southern Italy around 520, and seems to have established himself in the city of Croton. There he founded a society of people sharing his beliefs and… …   History of philosophy

  • UNITED STATES OF AMERICA — UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, country in N. America. This article is arranged according to the following outline: introduction Colonial Era, 1654–1776 Early National Period, 1776–1820 German Jewish Period, 1820–1880 East European Jewish Period,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Third Party System — The Third Party System is a term of periodization used by some historians and political scientists to describe a period in American political history from about 1854 to the mid 1890s that featured profound developments in issues of nationalism,… …   Wikipedia

  • JERUSALEM — The entry is arranged according to the following outline: history name protohistory the bronze age david and first temple period second temple period the roman period byzantine jerusalem arab period crusader period mamluk period …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Kofi Annan — 7th Secretary General of the United Nations In office 1 January 1997 – 31 December 2006 Deputy Louise Fréchette (1997–2006) Mark Mall …   Wikipedia

  • international relations — a branch of political science dealing with the relations between nations. [1970 75] * * * Study of the relations of states with each other and with international organizations and certain subnational entities (e.g., bureaucracies and political… …   Universalium

  • Yoweri Museveni — President of Uganda Incumbent Assumed office 26 January 1986 Prime M …   Wikipedia

  • United Kingdom — a kingdom in NW Europe, consisting of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: formerly comprising Great Britain and Ireland 1801 1922. 58,610,182; 94,242 sq. mi. (244,100 sq. km). Cap.: London. Abbr.: U.K. Official name, United Kingdom of Great… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”