>

I think the thing that makes America worse than other peer nations is a sizeable number of well-armed extremists who now see violence as a legitimate political tool. Couple this with vulnerable infrastructure and a supply chain that can easily be disrupted and you have a situation where even a few hundred extremists could wreak  havoc by blowing up power plants, bridges, railroad tracks, etc.
As a Canadian, American politics seems like pure chaos and spectacle.
That said, I know US politics is tame compared to other places on the planet. >

On the contrary, I think you guys forego shaking up your system in the name of politeness. Your healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, your housing crisis is worse than ours, and your wage stagnation is more broadly felt. I think Canadians making their anti-americanism a personality trait has backfired to the point where when your whole society is degrading faster than ours you don't want to even acknowledge because your instinct is to default to "at least we're not america!!!1" than actually resolve your issues. >

I’m not so sure.
I think things are tough because things are tough in general. A lot of countries are having a hard time now. A lot of it is Post-Covid shockwaves.
For example, Inflation isn’t limited to just Canada. Many countries have inflation.
Expensive housing is another. While Canada is among the worst for this we are not alone in this problem. The US, UK and Canada all have this problem. 
In fact, the World Bank estimates 1.6 billion people will be affected by a global housing shortage.
So, Canada isn’t unique in its problems the fact these problems are around the world… implies more  that there might be systemic failures in our economy rather than something specific about Canadian political culture.
The World Health Organization also estimate a global shortage of healthcare workers.
I’m not saying Canada is perfect. I’m addressing the specific claim here that our situation is tightly tied to our political system.
I respectfully disagree. It doesn’t seem to be the case. While our political system my exacerbate some of the problems (or all? Who knows.), I’m reluctant to blame our political system for what seems to be, Global trends that were made worse by a global pandemic. >

My point to you is not that your problems are unique - it was the contrary. My point is that canadians have pretty much the same problems as the U.S does, in some cases worse than the U.S. does. I bring this up to show you that maintaining your political "calmness" is not the flex you think it is anymore and may actively be hindering your ability to address your issues because when these issues are pointed out, instead of arguing about what to do like Americans do, canadians find reasons to deflect by saying things like "well at least we're not the U.S."
Canada's housing crisis is the worst among developed nations
Canada's inflation rate basically on par with U.S.
Canadian Medical association basically admitting the healthcare system is on the verge of collapse.
Canadians have the same problems the U.S. has - you guys are just passively accepting it instead of defying your establishment like Americans have the balls to do. Maybe to you it looks like asylums taking over the system, but on the reverse side the way I see Canada is a bunch of sheep that haven't ever learned to fend for themselves because they thought they had it good for so long that now in the face of danger they're accepting death because they never developed any confrontation skills. >

People value stability. You can’t fault people valuing stability. Remember Canada wasn’t born from a Revolution or had a Civil War to try to entrench Slavery as an Institution.
How we ended up where we are is through solid, stable governance. No table flipping. No bloody wars. Different culture.
Where you see “Sheep”, we see a steady hand. A country avoiding the excesses of individualism and Imperialism.
Americans and Canadians both see government differently. Canadians trust the government more than Americans. But again this is because we didn’t need to fight a war of Independence. We’re not immediately cynical of the state.
The country is different. If the American perspective is “they’re sheep”, personally I would disagree with that. Because I have yet to see an example of truly sane governance down south.
The Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade while 70%+ of the population supporting it, for example, is something I would consider destabilizing.
January 6, was destabilizing as well. 
The American story isn’t done yet and I’d be reluctant to follow a model that so easily collapses to instability when things get hard…
So sure. You see us as “sheep waiting for death”. I see Americans as “sheep running toward death”.
I guess time will well. >

So you don’t even disagree with me that the US and Canada are heading in the same direction- you’re just claiming your reaction to it is more stable. Maybe it is in fact stability- but it also sounds like being complicit In your own subjugating. Americans and Canadians might be both enslaved wage slaves, but at least the Canadians get to brag they did it in a “stable way” (aka we never raised a fuss.) sound like a huge cope to me >

I think you're completely missing the point that u/FatStupidOldMan is trying to make. What they're trying to say is that the stability of the Canadian system is the core reason why Canada is not moving in the same direction as the US. They're saying that Canada's problems are more due to the ups and downs any country/economy faces, while the current problems of the US are rooted in deeper structural and societal issues, and are partly due an excessive fear of the State, which Canadians don't have to the extent that the Americans do, thereby making the State more involved in political and economic affairs, which guards against the unpredictability that comes with free market-like capitalism and individualism. The State guards the electoral system way more in Canada than in the US, and that's mainly because Canadians trust the State to do so, while the Americans don't with their own State.
(Btw I'm not an American or a Canadian, but I kinda agree with u/FatStupidOldMan, even though there are some disagreements I've with them too. I basically was trying to explain their point from their perspective, because you weren't getting it. I'm not trying to judge either countries here). >

Thanks for this. It was mostly my point that because we govern the way we do, hardships become easier to manage.
For example, in Canada’s parliamentary system. Minority governments must work with other parties to accomplish things and they do.
Personally, I find that more useful than American gridlock / lame duck sessions. >

No problem! 
And yeah I broadly agree with you wrt these points, even though in theory I'd rather have a single majority government. But in my country (India), which also has a Parliamentary system, the majority of the good work has come out of coalition or minority governments lmao. It's a weird track record, but it is what it is. What you said about having to work together, is definitely a factor in all this. Right now, India has a single majority government (since 2014) and it's really wrecking stuff up in many ways, even though they've done some very few good things. The last time India had a majority government (1984-1989), it was highly ineffective as well lol. 1990-2014 had its low points ofc but overall it was a great period for India wherein a lot of sensible policies and reforms got passed, and the politicians were in general more willing to work together for lack of a choice lmao. >

I don't think so. Its mostly just that american politics are everyones buisness, whereas nobody really cares about politics in certain small european countries. >

Probably should? The EU is honestly a way more interesting market long or even medium term. Our primary export is debt and few countries like "the dollar" (really T-bills) as a reserve nearly as well as they did 10-20 years ago.
Their markets, however, are highly regulated so I guess that makes them far LESS interesting to the big movers and shakers. >

Nah... the E.U. is stagnant at best. Most Euro countries are past their peak and are just riding the coattails of wealth they accrued in previous eras. >

Bold claim, got any sauce? >

EU economic recovery not projected to occur until 2024, and even in their optimist 1.6% growth in two years time will still be, for comparison, WORSE than where the USA is NOW lmao
EU population in decline >

A lot of people from Europe have no idea the vastness of undeveloped space and resources the U.S. still has. We have a lot of space to expand into still. 
For example, we have sparsely populated states in the Midwest with more geographic space than major western European countries. >

Politically, it's not that we're any better.  It's just that unlike a lot of places, our lifestyles from the 20 teens didn't change all that much.  Sure, we got some minor shortages here and there and prices are higher....but like at the end of the day, you can still stuff your face in a well-heated home and take a vacation here and there.
We just have too much comfort in our lives to truly be pissed.  We're still pissed but we also still have a lot to lose.  When you have less to lose, that's when shit gets real. >

I would agree with this. Political rhetoric in America seems polarized and crazy but most people are still pretty comfortable. >

Maybe it is able to be politicized and crazy because people are comfortable. 
I use an app that lets local people talk to one another (like fb but you have to prove you are local w a postcard) and moved to a completely different area. I had lived in Texas in a purple area (divided politics) with fairly high crime but they never debated politics and were fairly polite to one another about some serious matters (offensive graffiti about their child or fireworks going off all night long).
In my new, no crime Rural red area it is opposite. They fight over every issue big and small and are quite harsh with one another about local and national politics. In one case someone was "stealing" deer antlers from roadkill and at least a dozen people weighed in to condemn and shame them. 
I think they squabble so much because they feel safe. >

I would instead say that the red voters are more likely to resort to anger. I don't think it's a "feels safe" issue.
You get into a homogenous group and you will find the baser instincts get reinforced instead of tempered. >

These aren't red voters lashing out tho, most of those aren't on there or are discussing home repairs. The political divide actually leans democrat / hysterical about inane issues and the few on the right who are particularly emphatic complain about getting banned.
The app has an overt left bias and I believe it is HQ'd in SF.
Right-wingers don't tend to scold people for stealing deer antlers off of roadkill. >

American politics are more impactful than most other countries’ politics. Like it or not, what happens in America’s politics sets the stage for what happens in the rest of the world. >

And beyond that, Americans have outsized influence on social media. I don’t know if that’s because of its the largest English-speaking country, or if the polarized rhetoric attracts more attention. 
But the result is that American controversy tends to be on display on everyone’s social media feed throughout the Western world. And some people in every country begin to take up the banner of whatever polarizing issue grabs them, even if the core issue isn’t really a problem in their own country. 
I’ve definitely been seeing American drama spread into Irish political discourse more and more over the past few years. >

If you think America is bad, take a look at Latin American and Eastern European politics. Countries like Italy and Belgium are also massive shit shows. >

Not exactly a comforting comparison. >

NZ's PM has been in the job for 6 years, she's been subject to death threats and harassment for a while know.  Don't blame her. 
The UK is a shitshow right now the Torries have mucked up everything, they have gone through 3 PMs in 6 months, each one progressively worse than the last. The Austerity measures are out of bounds, the NHS in on the brink of collapse. You add BREXIT on top of all of that and they are well and truly fucked.  
Everyone the world over is going to hate who is in charge at some point or another, it is just human nature. Some countries are just better at hiding their crazy or just have less of it than the US does. >

Brexit is where all this nonsense started. I read somewhere that Brexit is responsible for the UK economy being something like 9% smaller now than what it would be had the UK stayed in the EU. That is massive and no wonder everything is starting to fall apart. I feel so bad for the people who voted remain. They're getting completely screwed over by the half the country who ignorantly voted to leave. >

Many didn't vote or voted leave as a laugh because they thought enough other people would do the right thing and vote remain. I remember the horrified people the next day when they saw it passed and most were saying, what have we done? >

This is why you never treat your vote as a “laugh” or a joke. It’s a privilege and a responsibility. >

Depends on the basis for comparison.  
I have some Italian friends that thought it was hilarious when Trump was elected.  Brexit was and is a shitshow.  And I now live in Spain where a prominent politician said that Spain brought civilization to Latin America.  
And of course you have a huge mess in Argentina, Bolosonaro and the recent chaos in Brazil, AMLO the idiot in Mexico and corruption in general throughout Latin America.  
There are more stable and sane political systems in Europe but for the most part I think that the U.S. is just bleeping bigger on most peoples' radars.  And yeah the U.S. is fucked but it could be a lot worse. >

I'm not from there, but I wouldn't call the NZ situation "turmoil".
She's stepping down in an ordered and structured manner for sound reasons and, importantly, for better outcomes for her country.
If anything, I'd like to see more self-awareness like this in leaders who know when they don't have the energy to lead anymore allow things to progress in this manner. >

It’s funny cuz American politicians have better approval ratings than most other western countries >

What other developed western nation has had an incumbent President lose and then lie about the election results, incite a violent attack on the elected representatives and face no consequences? >

Yes.  That said it's probably exaggerated in some places; and it has probably varied some over time.  It also depends which 'western countries' you compare to.  If you look up the various democracy indices for instance; the US does worse than many of its peer countries; there's still a lot of room to do far FAR worse than the US, but there's definitely considerable room to be better.
America's economy being 'better' depends somewhat on how you measure it.  It also helps that america is simply large and has a strong supply of natural resources as well as manufacturing.
Resignations are a good thing; it means people who do bad things leave, rather than the problem where people who do bad things stay in office and their party refuses to remove them from power.
Some of America's problems are structural resulting from an outdated constitution; while it still works reasonably well due to America's advantageous position ad long history, there are a number of frustrations and problems like partisanship that are exacerbated by the FPTP effects.
The US also currently has one party that's really been going off the rails and pushing against the rule of law as well as the basics of sound governance.  Admittedly many in Europe are also having similar issues, but not quite as bad (like if you look at the % of the vote acquired by various factions). >

It is just hard to tell who is going off the rails.  The party that can't identify what a woman is, thinks censorship is needed, pushes to regulate every aspect of a person's life ....
Or the party that worships guns, supports the patriot act that strips privacy from individuals, insists that the boarder should be secure, tolerates a blow hard as a party leader. 
Both parties are filled with self serving, self dealing, self enriching egotists whose gains in net worth alone makes it hard to dispute that moral and ethical officials are the exceptions not the rule.
Maybe other countries are better?  Hard to say. >


The party that can't identify what a woman is, thinks censorship is needed, pushes to regulate every aspect of a person's life ....

I really, really wasn't sure which party this line was talking about until the line after this one. It describes the GOP very well. >

Republicans pretty clearly define a woman as a biological female. >

What does that prove? No mention of politics exists in your link.  And even if one or more are republicans, that's no party platform or any officials.
If you mean to prove people can be mean, violent,  and obnoxious, great.  Done.  But it is bigoted to believe no democrat could do the same horrible stuff. >


What does that prove? 

a "biological woman" was beaten for using the women's bathroom. Republicans don't use the "biological women" definition. >

Those were democrats.  Read the article.  It doesn't mention democrats nor Republicans, so I have just as much reason to think they are democrats and you can't prove they are not. >


so I have just as much reason

no, you really, really don't. >

How did y’all’s insurrection go?
Oh, you haven’t had one yet? Not you Brazil. I’m talking to everyone else. >

Yeah I don’t think it’s worth evaluating the other factors here. If the president can lead a coup and walk free, yes politics are worse in the US than elsewhere. >

Also there is the whole teetering on the verge of fascism aspect. Shocked how optimistic this comments section is. >

I think this is way too vague a question to answer properly. What I'd say is you need a decent amount of experience to distinguish between politics and political theater. America is extremely adept at political theater and if you get suckered into watching the theater too closely you can be convinced that American politics is constantly teetering on the edge of complete collapse. 
Meanwhile political systems in other countries are actually collapsing while America remains the de facto world economic and political hegemon. 
The political theater that poisons our culture also hides the simple reality that both parties are entirely united on the two main goals of American politics, which I'd describe as

Maintain American global hegemony 
Stocks go up 

And in that sense, American politics is working very well. >

Thanks, this was the answer I was looking for. >

I think most people are just worried about the nukes, war could break out between any of the powerhouses depending on who gets in. Another thing to factor in is that a TON of American politicians are borderline fascists. Some are just straight up fascists. Fascism has been on the rise in America for a while now and it's only getting worse with people like Kanye West, Nick Fuentes, and other influencial people pushing the narrative. And to add to the dumpster fire Religion (Specifically Christianity) has American politics by the balls. Roe V Wade overturning was a prime example of this >

Turmoil will always be part of any democratic system by design. It's part of necessary civil struggle that lets politically opposing points of view exist at the same time. It's going to look messy and winners and losers aren't always graceful. 
I think there's been an increase in the multiplicity of viewpoints in media since the internet really took off and that's engaged more people in the political process but I think people tend to point to a peaceful past in politics that never existed or time periods like the gulf war or after 9/11 where crafty presidential leadership gave the appearance of a unified front in domestic politics. 
I think, paradoxically, there is more rhetorical strife though. I think there is a general understanding that the world is on the cusp of a series of paradigm shifts brought on by a lot of different factors. The churn of history is maybe felt stronger right now, leading to a greater intensity in rhetoric and political urgency. There's a great quote from the pre-wwi 1910s attributed to the italian writer Antonio Gramsci "The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters." . I think we are living in one of those times he was describing >

In the case of Truss, she couldn’t get anything done and so resigned. In the case of Ardern, she says that she feels she doesn’t have what it takes to keep going to be able to execute the demands of the office successfully. 
When would either of those things happen in American government? >

Watch the US house leader.  I will be impressed if he lasts 2 years never mind 6.  The shortest serving US house leader was 1 day so McCarthy can't break that record at least. >

Right, but if/when he leaves this congress it likely won’t be by choice. >

A sign that american politics is, in fact worse, is that basic human, government-provided services are still being debated in the US as to whether or not they're viable, whereas the rest of the western world is debating on how to improve these services to their citizens. >

Europe's status quo is propped up by our security guarantees to them. Their whole focus on "government funded services" falls apart in circumstances where the U.S. bailing them out when Russia wants to mess with them stops being something they can take for granted. We're witnessing a peak of this when Germany and France had to be forced into adopting more stern anti-russian stances post feb 2022. >

Without US security guarantees they'd adjust their social spending.  Norway has high spending but also high taxes.  They operate a balanced budget.  They and other europeans generally tolerate it because they see tangible results.
The US spends around the same % of GDP of on public healthcare as the UK but the US doesn't cover everyone.  
Singapore spends a fraction and has one of the top rated public healthcare systems in the world.  They design their systems to encourage personal responsibility and try to make them sustainable and efficient.  They give people basic healthcare and keep prices down but people will still strive for better healthcare.  
Their philosophy is each generation, family and individual should pay there own way.  Only then should they look to govt help.  Both Europe and the US should look at how they do social programs. >

We have known traitors in Congress actively legislating laws that will help them avoid consequences for an insurrection. Anyone who tries to sugarcoat our politics in this thread is probably a Qonservative. Our democracy is broken, thoroughly. >

I mean Italy elected a fascist party into power and Hungary has one of the most successful wannabe dictators in the western world. 
We're pretty bad but just remember europeans can be just as stupid as us. >

I would say it depends how you rate it. If you think the outcomes (economy, global influence etc.) should matter the most, then I think US politics is definitely much better than many or even most European countries. However, I would say the Congress Riot and all the false claims are enough to say American politics is worse than many European countries. The denial of election in national level is just something I saw a lot in many “third-world countries”. >

Political effectiveness like economic effectiveness, is about choice. The more choice you have the better you usually feel about your decisions. And just as when comcast is your only choice, things suck when a single political party is your only choice.
Which tends to be the case with winner-take-all (FPTP) voting systems. Different countries have different voting systems but historically English countries tend to have this is common. US and UK have the worst examples but feelings of powerlessness are still to common. And these problems are the result. >

No, it isn't.
The difference is, is that the actions the United States takes on a global stage impacts other countries disproportionately to how their internal politics affects us.
Let's look at what has happened in other countries recently, for example. Look at Italy, for example. Italy's current government is a populist right wing backlash...but no one outside of Europe cares because it doesn't impact anyone besides maybe the refugees trying to settle in Italy. If the U.S. has a right wing backlash, meanwhile, it means  there's potential for a right wing president (should he have a congress that's backing him) to withdraw from NATO, which will completely pull the rug out from underneath a dozen or so countries in regards to their defense policies. Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Hungry, Finland, and a bunch of other countries are now affected by the U.S's actions, and suddenly and internal political affair becomes international.
Let's also take, New Zealand. Their Prime Minister suddenly resigns- shocking, but doesn't impact anyone. Joe Biden suddenly resigns...it means Kamala might take the helm, who is so deeply unpopular that it might result in her losing in 2024 should she decided to run for another term, or it means an unknown person will be president beyond 2024. This has an impact on the world, because whoever becomes president, an R or a D, again will determine how we react to China, Iran, Russia, and all the other continents/countries.
Our politics aren't more crazy than other countries - our politics receive more attention than other countries because American politics have an impact on citizens in other nations. The American voting populace is one of the most powerful demographics to ever exist on this planet.
Canada and the U.K are having a cost of living crisis more severe than the U.S. Sweden and Italy had right wing backlashes. France almost went there. Eastern Europe backslid democratically all together. Iran is hanging people for democracy. Russia is in a war that it's pretending doesn't exist to its own people. China had its first riots since tianamen. Africa sucks so hard their people are flooding to Europe. Brazil had their own Jan 6th moment. Mexico is in a low grade civil war with the cartels. 
The U.S. is doing fine, even if its a little bumpy right now as we emerge into the post - covid world. >

I honestly believe that many of the United States' issues are due to the "f you, got mine" mentality that exists in capitalism.  In a capitalist socialist nation, you see more "we" instead of "me." In the US, things are very self-centered.  I think due to our immaturity as a nation as well as our excplosive growth in the first 200 years.  We are also bringing ALL nationalities into one country, and that creates clashes.  I think it would also help if Americans were as well traveled as the EU population is.  Exposure to different cultures generally creates empathy and understanding.  Americans can't even usually speak more than one language.  I noticed the severity of this when overseas with the military.  The Europeans i met were shocked that I was learning the culture and language of the country I was living in.  Frankly, I find that sad.  Many of our political differences can be traced to this self-centered mentality that is literally being bred into the US. 
And yes, I am an American. >

I'm in the UK and I think the US is worse in some ways.  
The cost for the ME senate seat in 2020 was $93 million. The 2019 general election total cost was $86 million.  UK has a population of 67 million.  ME has a population of 1.37 million.  Obviously there was a lot of outside money pouring in.
Total cost of the US 2020 federal election spending was $14.4 billion.  If the UK spending was adjusted for the US population then the spending would have been $423 million. 
So even UK spending is high but US also has midterms where 2022 was almost $9 billion. 
Rich donors are not pouring all that money into US elections for nothing.  
US public healthcare spending is about the same as the UK.  The UK covers everyone.  US only covers a portion.   There's still no public option in the US.  There was some limited drug price capping in the US passed.  They've been talking about that for 20 years and it's so meagre it's laughable.  
What is the problem with a prime minister resigning?  US house speakers typically last a single term if they are republican.  
In the UK we did have SHTF with our run of prime ministers.  I would wait and watch how the US house speaker manages these 2 years and the turmoil before casting judgement.
We've seen government shutdowns in the US even when the president agreed to demands by the other side but the other side just wanted chaos and refused to fold when their demands were met (eg. Obama agreeing to social security cuts).  The US has a debt ceiling meaning money that has already been spent must be negotiated again and republicans in the house are hellbent on manufacturing a crisis.
It took 15 rounds to elect the US house speaker.  Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak combined did not take that many rounds.  The Truss election had 5 ballots as the lowest share member got eliminated and there was a new round till 2 remained and were presented to party members to vote.
Norms and conventions have broken in the US.  Look at George Santos.  He's like an alien that is infiltrating the US government with a whole new manufactured identity.  Any second he will rip off his skin to reveal he is reptilian.  So many horribly corrupt politicans get away with their crimes.  We're getting worse in the UK but they will be made to resign eventually.
Racial minorities are disenfranchised from voting eg. ND where republicans required standard residential addresses on voter ID to vote so native americans relying on PO Boxes couldn't vote.  
In the UK we are taking note and copying some republican crap too but we haven't wholesale broken down yet.  When we do it will be worse as we don't have an entrenched constitution so whoever is in power can change all the rules.  
US lawmakers draw the lines of districts in most states so they just rig the maps.  The supreme court says it is illegal to do so on a racial basis but they just accept the word of lawmakers if they say they did it for partisan advantage.  
America is so much further along in decay and corruption.  It's not that others are totally pure, we're just further behind in the race. >

I know there are other countries with worse political drama but everything is relative and our political discourse is much worse than it has been for awhile.  This was actually planned by Newt Gingrich and the insurrection on  jan 6th is the culmination of decades of working to weaponize politics. >

Do you mean the attempt make massive political hay from a small out of hand riot instigated by a very few?
I really doubt you can blame three failed, mostly baseless prosecutions on President on Gingrich.... >

US politics effect a lot of the world because we have a huge economy and a huge military. The US dollar is used as a base for currency (reserve currency) trades for a reason.   
Oddly, Americans/ US Citizens (especially Republicans) still like to act as though we are the underdog in geopolitics… We might not be great for all our citizens, but that doesn’t mean we should disregard our actual place at the top- we are the only ‘super power’ right now- and that isn’t a brag. It does explain why US politics are so important though, and why we shouldn’t have irrational actors in top government positions.   
Our Senators have more power than most countries leaders, because of our money and military. I feel like too many in the US really don’t get that.      
We are energy independent- look at exports vs imports. We also are top in refining fuels to make them useable. Then we have agriculture- again, we are at the top. Manufactured goods? Yep, we have that covered too, and Biden has made concrete investments in making sure we have domestic production to guard against being dependent upon others.   
However, if you ask most people in the US, they would tell you that we are a desperate/ poor nation being taken advantage of by our neighbors. They honestly believe we are dependent on Saudi Arabia and China - we aren’t. No one makes us act as ‘world police’- we do it for our own benefit to maintain power.   
I don’t mind disagreeing about how we use or abuse that power, but pretending that it doesn’t exist is just bullshit. >

On the ground level United Statesians are much more upset with each other over politics then Canadians are. People are carrying around a lot more anger and a hell of a lot more fear.  
I am certain that US politics is biologically more harmful to them then the bulk of other wealthy nations due to that stress component. >

The democracy we have at home is pretty different than it was 10 years ago, and it wasn’t the Perfect Democracy then either. 
Compromise and diplomacy were never our strong suit but the recent gridlock between the two parties is crazy-pants insane. Add in the stochastic terrorism (see 1/6/20), literal domestic terrorism at power plants, the Jewish Space Laser lady on the Homeland Security Committee, the Freedom Caucus in general, and I haven’t even mentioned anything the twice-impeached former President did officially.
Worse? Maybe, hard to know enough about national politics everywhere to say, but you hear about it so much from foreigners because we export that crazy through global power, economic, political, and social. >

If your argument starts with “The news is all fake” I can’t take you seriously and no one else should either. The primary news outlet of the right is all opinion shows and their top rated presenter claims in court that no reasonable person should take him seriously because he’s an entertainer. Alex Jones isn’t better. >

I mean “western” is a fairly vague term.  It would be pretty difficult to make the case that American politics are worse than those of Russia, Brazil, Venezuela, Hungary or Mexico. >

It all depends on what you mean by “worse”. Every country has a unique set of problems.
People complain about the prohibitive expense of housing in the US, but this problem is far worse in Canada and New Zealand.
Feel like the free press doesn’t so much shed light as spew propaganda? Well, the Polish and Turkish medias are much worse, with overt government interference in their operations.
Chaotic leadership by President Trump? Look no further than the United Kingdom, which had three prime ministers in the span of a year, Italy, whose governments are notorious for their short lifespans, or Israel, which seems to have an election every few months.
That’s not to say we don’t have (among developed democracies) several problems where we lap the competition.
Polarization between the two parties is worse here than in any other stable democracy, partly because there are ONLY two viable parties. Militarization of the police and the military-industrial complex aren’t completely unique to us, but the scale dwarfs the competition. Healthcare is a complete disaster based on how much we spend per capita versus actual health outcomes.
The various dysfunctions caused by our constitutional structure (i.e., gridlock when control of government is split between the parties) is crippling here, but barely affects most parliamentary democracies. It’s also unusual to have such long election cycles with billions of dollars sloshing around, which inflames the polarization problem in a way it doesn’t in other countries.
We’re far removed from failed state status, but American politics remains gnarly for all sorts of unique reasons. The problems facing the country definitely aren’t unique, and aren’t even usually as bad here as elsewhere. However, the political gridlock in concert with the interminable, ruinously expensive election cycles and frantic tone of mainstream media makes politics FEEL far worse for everyday citizens. >

Great answer, this is close to my belief as well. >

American politics is healthy, the gloves are off and the parties are checking the piss out of each other.  We are coming off the first twice impeached president, and almost certain to see more investigations and scandals.
This is democracy, a big messy truth.  When everything appears smooth and all you see is pressed suits and fake smiles, you know those snakes are getting away with too much. >

There's nothing healthy about stoking an attack on the Capitol to overturn an election. >

Healthy like the Weimar Republic after the Beer Hall Putsch. >

The only real thing that makes American politics 'worse' is the scale. The US is the third most populous country on the planet, and has the fourth largest land mass. The problems you see in the US are similar problems that exist in all representative democracies, but the problems themselves are exaggerated by the scale at which they have to be solved. This is not helped by the artificial restraint on the size of the House. In a better system, there would be three-ish times more representatives in Congress, but with the restraint of 435, problems of corruption get concentrated as fewer individuals hold more power. >

No, the reason for 435 is, to be frank, 1) the House representative numbers will always be lagging behind, 2) the House will need a complete rebuild every Census, and 3) more people means less governability.
​
Also, it should be noted that due to the technological context we're now saddled with, democracy as we know it isn't viable. That's what happens when the internet isn't regulated to hell and back and memetic weapons are a genuine thing (blame Russia opening that particular genie from the bottle). >


1) the House representative numbers will always be lagging behind, 

I'm not sure why this is a point in favor of a cap. 

2) the House will need a complete rebuild every Census, 

the house is elected every 2 years anyways, not sure what this means. 

and 3) more people means less governability.

More people means more citizen influence on governing. A smaller citizen-to-rep ratio is better representation. 

due to the technological context we're now saddled with, democracy as we know it isn't viable

we've not really given democracy much of a chance. with our winner-take-all, fptp systems that allow states to override people. >


More people means more citizen influence on governing. A smaller citizen-to-rep ratio is better representation.

Nope, it means unviable governance. The original rep to pop ratio would mean somewhere around 1500 reps, all of whom need to be placated in some way... in an era where pork is an expiative. Governance stability tends to break down the closer to 1000 you get.

the house is elected every 2 years anyways, not sure what this means.

The House will need to be torn down and rebuilt every census, just to catch up.

we've not really given democracy much of a chance. with our winner-take-all, fptp systems that allow states to override people.

... wow, that's somewhat ignorant. We've done the math and, sadly, no matter what we do in terms of voting systems it always ends the same, exact way: a two/three party system. How long it takes is dependent on various variables but it always ends there.
​
Largely because of the human condition -which is quite Hobbesian or otherwise well within the 'pessimist' end of the spectrum, I'm afraid. Technology also has a major say about this and oh boy does it give the middle finger to democracy... at least of democracy as we know it. >


Governance stability tends to break down the closer to 1000 you get.

the bundestag seems to handle 750 just fine. 

The House will need to be torn down and rebuilt every census, just to catch up.

hang on are you suggesting that the world's only superpower, that maintains 10 or so nuclear aircraft carriers, can't handle chairs? just can't figure out chairs? seating is something we can't do? 

... wow, that's somewhat ignorant. We've done the math and

why did you ignorantly assume the goal of changing voting systems is "a different number of parties" rather than "more democracy" >

Ill say this
Almost 70-80% population in what you described the Western nations would agree their countries are not the best and henceforth expectations are low enough to tolerate
But Americans? 70-80% of American population has no doubt their country is da best nation in the world setting up high expectations.
So yes if we take this into account, American politics is quite lame and pathetic perhaps >


Almost 70-80% population in what you described the Western nations would agree their countries are not the best and henceforth expectations are low enough to tolerate
But Americans? 70-80% of American population has no doubt their country is da best nation in the world setting up high expectations.

Ever been to France, Italy, England, or almost any European nation? In all of them, you will find tons of people who believe that their culture is the "best" or "correct" way of navigating the world. More simply, nationalism exists everywhere. >

The French are notoriously insufferable. In fact, insufferability is a leading export of France. >

I think the thing that makes America worse than other peer nations is a sizeable number of well-armed extremists who now see violence as a legitimate political tool. Couple this with vulnerable infrastructure and a supply chain that can easily be disrupted and you have a situation where even a few hundred extremists could wreak  havoc by blowing up power plants, bridges, railroad tracks, etc. >

I can't compare it to other countries but I can certainly say American politics have become terrible within the last decade. We can't even accept that different sides have different perspectives on the same facts and one must call the others lies and misinformation. I literally got banned just yesterday on a different sub for saying the very outlandish statement that cloth masks (not n95 or anything else) are negligible at best for efficacy as supported by a bunch of links I posted from experts and that was flagged for covid misinformation and I was banned. This isn't even a new topic. Even using facts, stats and data is not enough anymore. Any opposing thought must be eliminated.... And that's just here on reddit. >

Idk,but what alarm me is when America politicians pushing some culture war or woks shit,it spreads to other country real fast,I have seen pamphlet against gay marriage in my country which just what anti-trans US church post online but with translation,we were having a vote on marriage equality at the time.
And some US political language (not the civil kind) infested online discussion here,even though :
1.we don’t even have those same issue here(literally no black population yet it became a talking point /gun etc)

People pushing questionable ,some are even straight up far-right YouTube videos to young kids online.

3.We barley have a “left wing” in our politics but now I can see people calling anyone “libtar” or “leftist “ online every day,without understanding of what that means (literally saw people call our equivalent of Westboro Baptist Church “liberal”,like,bro what??)
Once I started noticing America politic bs literally spilled over to other country I can’t stopped worrying the Jen 6 things can happen again somewhere else too. >

I'd guess the politics of the US populace aren't really that much worse than other developed, western nations. BUT, our particular electoral system, with FPTP elections and an electoral college for electing the head of government/state, is markedly worse than other developed western nations and leads to worse outcomes than most other such nations' systems would with the same constituencies. >

Is it worse than many countries having hereditary heads of state or legislatures electing the head of government?  Electoral college is dated but at least there is kind of a direct vote for the president and usually it returns the popular vote winner.
In the UK, a supermajority voted for not the Conservative party but they have the most seats and their leader is the prime minister.  Our monarch is the head of state.
We use FPTP too.  We are a bit worse as we have actual 3rd parties winning seats and dividing the vote.  Some seats are won by under 40% and even 30% of the vote in that district!  Most US seats are won with something in the 4x% range. >

Frankly I consider third parties winning seats a feature, not a bug, though I have always been fascinated that the UK managed to pull off a multi party democracy with FPTP. It's never made sense to me lol. >

No, it isn't.
​
Here's a sad reality: we've done the math and every singe alternative voting system can't escape becoming a two/three party system. Some take longer than others.
​
Because every single alternative system doesn't take into account the human condition and how that changes how voting is done. >

It's fair to say that no country's perfect, but IMO most western countries aren't at the same level of political disfunction that the US has seen in recent years.
The counter-examples you listed don't seem too convincing, aside from maybe the UK. For example:

Canadian politicians seem to all be disliked

They're politicians.  It's an inherently controversial role.  I wouldn't call that evidence of Canadian politics being particularly bad, on a level matching the US.

and even New Zealand's prime minister suddenly resigned

That might seem concerning to an American, since in your system Presidents are expected to serve a full term, but it's totally normal in a Westminster parliament.
In a parliamentary system, if a PM doesn't want to run in the next election, then they need to step down in advance, so their party can pick a new leader to replace them.
There's no option to stay on as PM, but let someone else lead her party in the next election. >

US politics are loud, chaotic, at times sketchy.
I am certain that there are some countries that are cleaner and quieter.  But I doubt any of those clean, quiet countries deal with the diversity and breadth of issues and perspectives that the US deals with.
All in all, I believe the US does a great job.  The worst idea would be to thing we need to tamp down on diversity of views and systematic deplatforming of opposition voices.  
What would we learn if we had government enforced peace and quite in policy?  Hard to say, but look at what we did learn from loud obnoxious fights and conflict?

Holding slaves is a bad idea
All races should get to vote
Women should get to vote
We shouldn't have racist laws
Covid was likely developed in a lab
Some critical data was not collected or communicated around the Covid vaccines
That natural immunity to covid is a thing
The Hunter Laptop isn't a Russian Hoax
Maybe all presidents and high officials have an issue with classified documents

Whatever you think, debate about policy should be open, vicious, and unrestrained.  We need more debate about:

Health ( covid )
Climate Change 
Election Security
Honesty in Primaries (universally bad with both Red and Blue)

All that said, at least the US does have these fights, even if the media and big tech would like to utterly suppress dialog. >

I think your post reveals part of the problem; every country that you mentioned speaks English.  Americans are much less aware of the, for instance, rising power of neo nazis in Italy due to the language barrier. >

My country's political atmosphere can be quite silly but America's is so zany at times, not rarely, that I have a hard time believing it >

The New Zealand Prime Minister has been in power for 6 years. According to the polls, the opposition party has taken the lead, so resigning now and letting someone new takeover may give them a chance to win the next election. John Key, the previous prime minister, was in power for about 8 years before he resigned giving a few weeks notice, to let another person take over and do the same thing the Jacinda Ardern is doing right now. >

Liz Truss was as bad as Trump, but lasted a few weeks and was blasted out, while US was trapped with someone digging everyone into a hole.
While both are a shitshow, one is worse >

As a Kiwi I would agree american politices are a laughing stock. You are represented by a man who has lied so much you tried to pass a law with his name Santos(thats if it is his name). Your politicians are for sale to anyone with money and pass laws that are so stupid the rest of world looks on in amazement (labelling food mad with human fetuses) You fought a 20year war against the Taliban then instituted their laws (Clothing for women in congress)  you are just nuts >

People are usually going to prioritize the politics that directly effect them over the politics of a foreign nation. It’s just human nature. As for whether American politics are worse than other countries, I don’t think they are but they are definitely more volatile than a lot of people are used to dealing with. For people who grew up or lived a decent chunk of their lives in the 60s-70s they’re probably used to political volatility but for someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s where two out of the three Presidents were broadly popular and people agreed on many different issues, it might seem pretty jarring nowadays. >

Yes exaggerated and I don’t think it worse, really. Like anywhere, it’s a spectrum of good and bad. 
I think we have less protection from the extremely bad portion though, as citizens. What Cambridge Analytica did in the UK was against laws, and they were held accountable , laws against using the tactics they did to manipulate people with mis/disinformation. But in the US? It wasn’t illegal. It’s still going on, and from multiple countries and on multiple platforms. 
I’m also just going to say without looking at the data, that other Western countries are likely better educated at younger ages than we are. I mean, I think we are ranked lower than Canada, probably the UK and others in the EU too. 
I also think American exceptionalism that’s been fed to us through propaganda and misinformation also plays a role where we have a large population, that’s largely on social media. although anecdotal, we tend to assume everything is about America and everyone will get it and our economy is what makes us “superior.” 
Idk, I try to be as globally aware as I can, and Ive watched UK parliament on YT for a long time, and am finding much more, at least Western, diversity on Reddit. Other countries have: bought/sold politicians, those in positions of power willing to use questionable ethics and worse for personal gain and glory, have old ass laws that never make it off the books, like sodomy laws, so they become weapons for lawmakers to use, unruly politicians who refuse to follow the rules and break laws … we could probably go on. Corrupt is corrupt is corrupt, but is it more so in the US? I don’t think so, at least not the banter, but we are less protected and less educated than other Western countries, and the fallout is largely engaged about online, loudly, and also it’s not all us. It’s other countries who use bots and workers that pretend to be America too. >

I don’t really think so.  I think we feel it’s intensity b/c well it’s our problem.  Believe me when I say that the citizens of other western countries feel the same intensity… >

As an American, I was really enjoying the Liz Truss vs Wet Lettuce standoff. I wish we could have some fun like that, but everyone here seems to have forgotten how to laugh. Maybe we need Jimmy Carter to be attacked by a killer rabbit again to get some levity back. >

Yes and no. It’s bad because we have very little actual political engagement. Almost all of it is limited to spirited debates about things that aren’t actually political, just politically adjacent. That makes for great social media spectacle but doesn’t deal with the mechanisms of government. >

Stop! How many of you have or have a close relative who used the Canadian health system?  If you did, you would not be talking such crap. Did the prime minister of England resigned peacefully with out inveigling his followers to storm the Parliament? How many of these countries have mass killings almost every day. How many people are homeless and sleep on their streets? Which of these countries control the rights to women health? Which of these countries women are forced to return to work 2 days after childbirth because they do not have maternity leave and cannot afford to lose wages or fired? Which of these countries the spouse of one the justices, who presides in the highest court, conspired to overthrow a legitimate government? These are some of the questions you need to answer before you start to criticize other countries. Every country has its social and political problems, the United States is no better. In retrospect, they are worst because they have set themselves on a pedestal which requires higher expectations. I have the opportunity to live or visit other countries and each of these countries has challenges. However, the acceptable norms, values, and civility of the United States have  declined considerably over the last 12 years. Therefore we have no authority to judge others. Let’s put our house in order first before we start to criticize other countries. >

You had a tv-host as president, that’s crazy af. On the other hand, Zelenskyy was a comedian and he is a great president and human being. I think Italia also had one of those a while back? I suppose it’s all crazy. But: the gop can’t win without the crazy’s like  qanon and alt right, because they would never get the majority. The whole two party system is just completely broken and the electoral college is also broken. Your vote doesn’t even count if you live in some areas or Washington DC if I’m not mistaken? Puerto Rico’s 3 Million citizens can’t vote for a president either and have limited representation in congress. The gop will forever stop Puerto Rico to become a state and everyone knows why, but if not every vote counts is it really a democracy? >

It seems worse in the US because we don't hold back on airing our dirty laundry. I think in most other countries, the crazies at least try to be respectable on the surface. >

What makes it worse is that the United States has an antagonistic/obstructionist type of government. It’s a zero sum game; if there is a winner, there must be a loser.
You saw this with the attempt to repeal the ACA. There was no policy discussion. There was no replacement plan. It was just trying to reverse a democratic “win”.
So right now, it’s just preventing the other side”‘a agenda. There is no real majority government working to improve the lives of its citizens. It’s like a sports game, where one side tries to beat the other >

I have had the ability to spend time in numerous countries all over the world. From what I’ve seen I think it’s best to explain it like this. American politics are a shit sandwich on wonder bread. Every other country makes their shit sandwich with a different style bread and condiments. Still a shit sandwich. >

American politics is a lot dumber than other counties. The rampant, unchecked non-stop barrage of lies and dishonesty that is allowed to be reported as news has eroded people's brains to the point that our conservative party is entirely divorced from reality and laws are being passed to fight imaginary enemies. Somebody at some point decided that utter horse shit needs to be respected as a legitimate political opinion no matter how stupid it is. From there, the brakes were off the speeding train. >

It is just boring, no coalitions, and no other parties within government besides the big two, probably both controlled by an organization like the WEF or CIA/FBI.
THey are both nothing more than controlled opposition >

It's just very American. Loud and very media centered. Every little thing gets blown up 100x larger than issues in other countries. >

The front page of the US political news today is about how a Rep is wanted for fraud (stealing cheque books from the elderly) in Brazil, has a half dozen false names, a half dozen false deaths for his mother.... oh and it turns out that this anti-LGBT Republican also used to be a cross dresser that went by the name Kitara Ravache.
Second article is about how a congresswoman that believes Jewish space lasers cause forest fires is being appointed to homeland security.
Canada's headline for the day is that Alberta's Premier's office may have had a staffer improperly contact the prosecutor's office which would be a violation of prosecutorial independence.
Second article is about how The PM is negotiating with premiers on healthcare which will likely come with an increase in Federal funding for provinces that improve coverage for dental/mental and long term care.
So.... yes. It is worse in the US. >

I think it’s becoming harder to do a job where you get threatened a lot, have a ton of stress, and try to do what’s right for your people when a huge portion hate you no matter what.
I used to just disagree with conservatives in Canada on financial policy, but now I’m legit scared of what they are going to do to the country.
Right in Canada, conservatives are doing everything they can to strip us of our healthcare. >

Where has there been an attempted and organized coup attempt. None of the countries you mentioned. Brazil is the closest and Bolsonaro escaped to Mar a Lago to be with Trump. >

It's basically the same stuff as is happening elsewhere but the US never got as close to being an actual social democracy as most countries in western Europe so they've got further to fall than we do. >

Europe's whole status quo is propped up by the U.S. security blanket. If we fall your house of cards collapses. We witnessed a glimpse of this in February 2022 when France and Germany were caught off guard by Ukraines invasion and had to be dragged by their dug in heels to pivot out of russian energy. >

I'm not making any kind of moral judgement here, I'm just describing the situation. >

Our politics are similar to other Eglish speaking countries. The problem is that our government is incredibly ineffective. The system was designed in the 1780s and hasn't had any major changes since the early 20th century. It is an antiquated system that empowers a small group of elites to slow or halt major change. >

Yes, and not just because we have first past the post, most developed nations do, the issue is moreso that a parliamentary system is fundamentally better than a presidential system.
Parliaments can call for snap elections anytime throughout election cycles, which can reshuffle the legislative branch while deposing the head of state anytime. In the US, congress and the president are locked with no mechanisms to remove people from power once they're elected in.
Most western nations adopt party ballots in some way or form while the US doesn't. This is better because most voters don't follow or care about the individual being elected, only about the policies they stand for. By using part ballots, not only does it lead to more accurate representations in government, but it also leads to  a multiparty system, which the US desperately needs. This multiparty system creates the need for coalition governments; wherein multiple parties need to negotiate policy deals to have a unified majority and prime minister.
All this allows for the democratic process to run more quickly and modernly. While the US is stuck in perpetual gridlock. >

We may have been through three Prime Ministers in a year, and Brexit may have been an absolute shitshow which caused huge division, but no groups are arming up and calling for a civil war in the UK.
When I look at groups like the Proud Boys and the militia movement in the US, it makes me glad that British politics still retains an air of civility. >

We complain about our police, but compared with many other nations, they are good. When you get pulled over, you don't have to ask yourself if you have enough cash.
To my knowledge, the US military has never involved itself in politics. 
The one thing that troubles me is the recent involvement of the IRS, FBI and CIA in partisan politics. It's pretty clear those organizations, and perhaps other Federal organizations involve themselves in favor of the Democrats. And that predates Trump. >

The most important thing to read about is January 6th, 2021. 
There are , I think , 10 Jan 6th committee hearings to watch.
Americans and Non-Americans alike tend to assume that the enormous military budget, world wide military bases, and global soft-power of the US will keep us safe and stable.
Just remember that the Capitol police were overrun and screaming for the National Guard, but the USNG didn't show up for over 3 hours because entrenched Republican party government officials wanted to wait and see if the coup could work and if they could eradicate the opposition in one swoop. >

Yes.
Mathematically, the US system requires that there be a 2-party system (except for brief blips as one party replaces a similar one), but it puts no constraints on those parties, and in fact it generally assumes parties don't exist.
America's Founding Fathers sucked at math, and in particular had no excuse for the errors they made in the Constitution (1789) after Condorcet published (1785).
(Multi-member districts are also important, but I don't think there was much research about them back then) >

How many countries have decided that corportions are people?
How many developed countries have had people try to violently install a despot?
How woukd the US have reacted if any Canadian prime minister decided that Putin was his best friend?
We now have 1 rep per 700,000+ people in the House, which was intended to grow with the population.
One party canceled the impeachment trial without hearing any evidence against Trump.
Trump went ahead and continued what can best be described as a crime spree.
You can't just say Ardern resigned and people don't lije Trudeau, so everything is the same. That's not even close to our problems. >

America has been quickly becoming an oligarchy and seems to moving towards the far right controlling the nation via terrorism and veto through the courts. >

Not yet, but we are rapidly going down the drain into becoming a banana republic and what is getting us into that realm is all the fake news or propaganda being smeared across the airwaves by the likes of FOX, OAN, NewsMax and conservative radio. >

As a Canadian, American politics seems like pure chaos and spectacle.
That said, I know US politics is tame compared to other places on the planet. >

Imagine what Canadian politics would be like if there was 10 times as much at stake during elections. >

Part of it is also that the US political system vests ridiculous amount of power in one person. The US is virtually the only democratic country with a strong executive branch that hasn’t devolved into a dictatorship. But we’ve certainly had some close calls lately. >

The French Presidency is way more powerful than the American one. >

I'm ignorant on the French system, what are the key differences? >

French presidents can actually pass laws without congress. So imagine a president with the unilateral power to pass laws (a de facto dictatorship). Look up 49.3. It’s the article in French constitution that gives the president this power. >

You seem to have a very light grasp on the French Constitution. Look it up yourself because that's not what the 49.3 article is. >

Copy paste from wiki “Clause 3 allows the government to impose the adoption of a text by the Assembly, immediately and without a vote, that the assembly cannot oppose without toppling the government through a motion of no confidence under Clause 2. This is one of the best known clauses of the Constitution, often cited by number, "article 49.3"[23] or even "the forty-nine three." This clause reveals a reversal of the relationship between governments and parliaments in the 20th century in favor of the former: the executive power is no longer subordinated to the legislative one and must be able to adopt laws in accordance to its policy. “ >

Read the article itself.
The 49.3 engages the responsability of the government to a vote in the AN instead of proceeding with the debates.
At any point, the Parliament can vote no, demote the government et block the law in question. 
Now yes, it's used and abused by governments to fast track laws and reduce debates in the AN. And if I had to rewrite our Constitution, I'd remove it. But to characterize it as a dictatorial tool for the president is a gross simplification. 
If it were that simple, Chirac could have used it to force his agenda between 1997 and 2002. >

I mean it’s clearly a dictatorial tool. Since there’s no check on it. In reality. >

I'm not from there, but I wouldn't call the NZ situation "turmoil".
She's stepping down in an ordered and structured manner for sound reasons and, importantly, for better outcomes for her country.
If anything, I'd like to see more self-awareness like this in leaders who know when they don't have the energy to lead anymore allow things to progress in this manner. >

It feels like throwing New Zealand in there just because the Prime Minister decided not to run again - all without a scandal or corruption or some insane affair, just because she decided that she had spent enough time in politics at a time where the nation was faced with several huge challenges that she navigated very successfully - doesn't really make the case that new Zealand is in any kind of way similar to America, where we had a corrupt, lying and grifting president who refused to accept that he lost an election and incited a violent mob to overthrow the government. >

American politics are more impactful than most other countries’ politics. Like it or not, what happens in America’s politics sets the stage for what happens in the rest of the world. >

And beyond that, Americans have outsized influence on social media. I don’t know if that’s because of its the largest English-speaking country, or if the polarized rhetoric attracts more attention. 
But the result is that American controversy tends to be on display on everyone’s social media feed throughout the Western world. And some people in every country begin to take up the banner of whatever polarizing issue grabs them, even if the core issue isn’t really a problem in their own country. 
I’ve definitely been seeing American drama spread into Irish political discourse more and more over the past few years. >

It's not the largest English speaking country.  That's China.
It's because social media was invented here.  So the platforms initially targets American audiences and still have that ingrained in their operations. >

By English-speaking I mean the country where English is the primary language of communication. 
Also roughly 0.9% of people in mainland China can speak English with any level of proficiency. Zimbabwe has more English speakers than China. >

Politically, it's not that we're any better.  It's just that unlike a lot of places, our lifestyles from the 20 teens didn't change all that much.  Sure, we got some minor shortages here and there and prices are higher....but like at the end of the day, you can still stuff your face in a well-heated home and take a vacation here and there.
We just have too much comfort in our lives to truly be pissed.  We're still pissed but we also still have a lot to lose.  When you have less to lose, that's when shit gets real. >

I would agree with this. Political rhetoric in America seems polarized and crazy but most people are still pretty comfortable. >

Maybe it is able to be politicized and crazy because people are comfortable. 
I use an app that lets local people talk to one another (like fb but you have to prove you are local w a postcard) and moved to a completely different area. I had lived in Texas in a purple area (divided politics) with fairly high crime but they never debated politics and were fairly polite to one another about some serious matters (offensive graffiti about their child or fireworks going off all night long).
In my new, no crime Rural red area it is opposite. They fight over every issue big and small and are quite harsh with one another about local and national politics. In one case someone was "stealing" deer antlers from roadkill and at least a dozen people weighed in to condemn and shame them. 
I think they squabble so much because they feel safe. >

I would instead say that the red voters are more likely to resort to anger. I don't think it's a "feels safe" issue.
You get into a homogenous group and you will find the baser instincts get reinforced instead of tempered. >

These aren't red voters lashing out tho, most of those aren't on there or are discussing home repairs. The political divide actually leans democrat / hysterical about inane issues and the few on the right who are particularly emphatic complain about getting banned.
The app has an overt left bias and I believe it is HQ'd in SF.
Right-wingers don't tend to scold people for stealing deer antlers off of roadkill. >

If you think America is bad, take a look at Latin American and Eastern European politics. Countries like Italy and Belgium are also massive shit shows. >

Not exactly a comforting comparison. >

I don't think so. Its mostly just that american politics are everyones buisness, whereas nobody really cares about politics in certain small european countries. >

Probably should? The EU is honestly a way more interesting market long or even medium term. Our primary export is debt and few countries like "the dollar" (really T-bills) as a reserve nearly as well as they did 10-20 years ago.
Their markets, however, are highly regulated so I guess that makes them far LESS interesting to the big movers and shakers. >

Nah... the E.U. is stagnant at best. Most Euro countries are past their peak and are just riding the coattails of wealth they accrued in previous eras. >

Bold claim, got any sauce? >

EU economic recovery not projected to occur until 2024, and even in their optimist 1.6% growth in two years time will still be, for comparison, WORSE than where the USA is NOW lmao
EU population in decline >

A lot of people from Europe have no idea the vastness of undeveloped space and resources the U.S. still has. We have a lot of space to expand into still. 
For example, we have sparsely populated states in the Midwest with more geographic space than major western European countries. >


For example, we have sparsely populated states in the Midwest with more geographic space than major western European countries.

There's a lot of empty land in many places on the planet. That alone doesn't mean much.
As someone from Kansas, you'll convince me that space alone matters if you can explain to me why it's more desirable to live in western Kansas than in one of those major European countries. >

NZ's PM has been in the job for 6 years, she's been subject to death threats and harassment for a while know.  Don't blame her. 
The UK is a shitshow right now the Torries have mucked up everything, they have gone through 3 PMs in 6 months, each one progressively worse than the last. The Austerity measures are out of bounds, the NHS in on the brink of collapse. You add BREXIT on top of all of that and they are well and truly fucked.  
Everyone the world over is going to hate who is in charge at some point or another, it is just human nature. Some countries are just better at hiding their crazy or just have less of it than the US does. >

Brexit is where all this nonsense started. I read somewhere that Brexit is responsible for the UK economy being something like 9% smaller now than what it would be had the UK stayed in the EU. That is massive and no wonder everything is starting to fall apart. I feel so bad for the people who voted remain. They're getting completely screwed over by the half the country who ignorantly voted to leave. >

Many didn't vote or voted leave as a laugh because they thought enough other people would do the right thing and vote remain. I remember the horrified people the next day when they saw it passed and most were saying, what have we done? >

This is why you never treat your vote as a “laugh” or a joke. It’s a privilege and a responsibility. >

I think this is way too vague a question to answer properly. What I'd say is you need a decent amount of experience to distinguish between politics and political theater. America is extremely adept at political theater and if you get suckered into watching the theater too closely you can be convinced that American politics is constantly teetering on the edge of complete collapse. 
Meanwhile political systems in other countries are actually collapsing while America remains the de facto world economic and political hegemon. 
The political theater that poisons our culture also hides the simple reality that both parties are entirely united on the two main goals of American politics, which I'd describe as

Maintain American global hegemony 
Stocks go up 

And in that sense, American politics is working very well. >

Thanks, this was the answer I was looking for. >

You had a tv-host as president, that’s crazy af. On the other hand, Zelenskyy was a comedian and he is a great president and human being. I think Italia also had one of those a while back? I suppose it’s all crazy. But: the gop can’t win without the crazy’s like  qanon and alt right, because they would never get the majority. The whole two party system is just completely broken and the electoral college is also broken. Your vote doesn’t even count if you live in some areas or Washington DC if I’m not mistaken? Puerto Rico’s 3 Million citizens can’t vote for a president either and have limited representation in congress. The gop will forever stop Puerto Rico to become a state and everyone knows why, but if not every vote counts is it really a democracy? >

The UK has problems but the levels of radicalisation in the U.S. is spectacular. Imagine if Boris Johnson was holding rallies for his supporters, imagine seeing Nigel Farage bumper stickers and flags everywhere. The U.S. is a fucking mess right now. >

As a New Zealander I can say that there is absolutely no comparison. Jacinda Ardern resigned because she was tired. It was slightly unexpected but we will have a peaceful and orderly transition. Our politics are more polarized than ever, but the difference between left and right really isn't that stark and we still have lots of voters who occupy a middle ground and switch between parties. 
The US has some pretty fundamental flaws which make it uniquely messed up in my opinion, like the electoral college/two party system, the gerrymandering, the lack of impartial media coverage, etc. >

No masses of people have invaded and pooped on the floor of Swedish parliament, with the good will of an ousted PM, nor do any elected Swedish officials believe in jewish space lasers, even though some on the far right are getting pretty close to that territory.
The gross mishandling of top secret documents is not a common occurence either, nor is blanket accusations of actual state sponsored cheating in regular elections. >

Some of the responses in here are hilarious, US Patriotic brainwashing has done a grand job >

UK is comparable because it also has first past the post elections where the American political system is based upon. 
I can't speak for other countries, but in my country the political chaos comes not from a lack of options like in the US or UK, but rather from the abundance of choice. If you need four or five parties to form a cabinet it is hard to speak with one mouth, especially if those parties don't agree on political issues. This leads to a lot of infighting and therefore unstability. >

Depends on the basis for comparison.  
I have some Italian friends that thought it was hilarious when Trump was elected.  Brexit was and is a shitshow.  And I now live in Spain where a prominent politician said that Spain brought civilization to Latin America.  
And of course you have a huge mess in Argentina, Bolosonaro and the recent chaos in Brazil, AMLO the idiot in Mexico and corruption in general throughout Latin America.  
There are more stable and sane political systems in Europe but for the most part I think that the U.S. is just bleeping bigger on most peoples' radars.  And yeah the U.S. is fucked but it could be a lot worse. >

I think however bad UK politics is, and it is absolutely terrible these days, there's somewhere in Europe that it's worse lol. >

Yes.  That said it's probably exaggerated in some places; and it has probably varied some over time.  It also depends which 'western countries' you compare to.  If you look up the various democracy indices for instance; the US does worse than many of its peer countries; there's still a lot of room to do far FAR worse than the US, but there's definitely considerable room to be better.
America's economy being 'better' depends somewhat on how you measure it.  It also helps that america is simply large and has a strong supply of natural resources as well as manufacturing.
Resignations are a good thing; it means people who do bad things leave, rather than the problem where people who do bad things stay in office and their party refuses to remove them from power.
Some of America's problems are structural resulting from an outdated constitution; while it still works reasonably well due to America's advantageous position ad long history, there are a number of frustrations and problems like partisanship that are exacerbated by the FPTP effects.
The US also currently has one party that's really been going off the rails and pushing against the rule of law as well as the basics of sound governance.  Admittedly many in Europe are also having similar issues, but not quite as bad (like if you look at the % of the vote acquired by various factions). >

It is just hard to tell who is going off the rails.  The party that can't identify what a woman is, thinks censorship is needed, pushes to regulate every aspect of a person's life ....
Or the party that worships guns, supports the patriot act that strips privacy from individuals, insists that the boarder should be secure, tolerates a blow hard as a party leader. 
Both parties are filled with self serving, self dealing, self enriching egotists whose gains in net worth alone makes it hard to dispute that moral and ethical officials are the exceptions not the rule.
Maybe other countries are better?  Hard to say. >


The party that can't identify what a woman is, thinks censorship is needed, pushes to regulate every aspect of a person's life ....

I really, really wasn't sure which party this line was talking about until the line after this one. It describes the GOP very well. >

Republicans pretty clearly define a woman as a biological female. >

What does that prove? No mention of politics exists in your link.  And even if one or more are republicans, that's no party platform or any officials.
If you mean to prove people can be mean, violent,  and obnoxious, great.  Done.  But it is bigoted to believe no democrat could do the same horrible stuff. >


What does that prove? 

a "biological woman" was beaten for using the women's bathroom. Republicans don't use the "biological women" definition. >

Those were democrats.  Read the article.  It doesn't mention democrats nor Republicans, so I have just as much reason to think they are democrats and you can't prove they are not. >


so I have just as much reason

no, you really, really don't. >

I'm sometimes amazed when people think they are arguing with me when they are agreeing with me.
My point was that I don't have any reason to believe your story was about democrats.  And for exactly the same reason that you have zero evidence to support your claim the story was about republicans. >

In the case of Truss, she couldn’t get anything done and so resigned. In the case of Ardern, she says that she feels she doesn’t have what it takes to keep going to be able to execute the demands of the office successfully. 
When would either of those things happen in American government? >

Watch the US house leader.  I will be impressed if he lasts 2 years never mind 6.  The shortest serving US house leader was 1 day so McCarthy can't break that record at least. >

Right, but if/when he leaves this congress it likely won’t be by choice. >

Liz Truss was as bad as Trump, but lasted a few weeks and was blasted out, while US was trapped with someone digging everyone into a hole.
While both are a shitshow, one is worse >

Stop! How many of you have or have a close relative who used the Canadian health system?  If you did, you would not be talking such crap. Did the prime minister of England resigned peacefully with out inveigling his followers to storm the Parliament? How many of these countries have mass killings almost every day. How many people are homeless and sleep on their streets? Which of these countries control the rights to women health? Which of these countries women are forced to return to work 2 days after childbirth because they do not have maternity leave and cannot afford to lose wages or fired? Which of these countries the spouse of one the justices, who presides in the highest court, conspired to overthrow a legitimate government? These are some of the questions you need to answer before you start to criticize other countries. Every country has its social and political problems, the United States is no better. In retrospect, they are worst because they have set themselves on a pedestal which requires higher expectations. I have the opportunity to live or visit other countries and each of these countries has challenges. However, the acceptable norms, values, and civility of the United States have  declined considerably over the last 12 years. Therefore we have no authority to judge others. Let’s put our house in order first before we start to criticize other countries. >

I think your post reveals part of the problem; every country that you mentioned speaks English.  Americans are much less aware of the, for instance, rising power of neo nazis in Italy due to the language barrier. >

The New Zealand Prime Minister has been in power for 6 years. According to the polls, the opposition party has taken the lead, so resigning now and letting someone new takeover may give them a chance to win the next election. John Key, the previous prime minister, was in power for about 8 years before he resigned giving a few weeks notice, to let another person take over and do the same thing the Jacinda Ardern is doing right now. >

As an American, I was really enjoying the Liz Truss vs Wet Lettuce standoff. I wish we could have some fun like that, but everyone here seems to have forgotten how to laugh. Maybe we need Jimmy Carter to be attacked by a killer rabbit again to get some levity back. >

What makes it worse is that the United States has an antagonistic/obstructionist type of government. It’s a zero sum game; if there is a winner, there must be a loser.
You saw this with the attempt to repeal the ACA. There was no policy discussion. There was no replacement plan. It was just trying to reverse a democratic “win”.
So right now, it’s just preventing the other side”‘a agenda. There is no real majority government working to improve the lives of its citizens. It’s like a sports game, where one side tries to beat the other >

not an opinion it's proven >

Probably in the middle of the spectrum.
Some countries are pure chaos, and EU also got stuff like Italy and UK that just seems largely incompetent at anything political at the moment.
​
But from my country's perspective, US is a drama town with rampant corru.. Sorry I mean Lobbyism.
It could be better, and could be worse.  
Edit:  
The reason for the US economy being largely better than most, is due to US being the world reserve currency holder, which gives them an extreme set of tools and a lot of power, which they are currently flexing to an enourmous degree.
Without that, US would have been forced to enter a depression much sooner. WRC holders never ever last forever, but the US is doing the best it can to grip to it as long as possible. >

Do other countries have an openly fascist political party that gets nearly half the vote? >

The US media is able to heavily influence public opinion on politicians. So for instance, despite the former house speaker and her husband becoming multi-millionaires due to their access to insider information, they are overall beloved by the American public due to positive media coverage. 
This is far reaching and well known, with most Americans turning a blind eye to the laughable levels of corruption we see plan out daily. >

America is completely polarized . There isnt any middle ground - wether it is religion, politics, finance, health. Everything we  hear about from U.S seems fractured.
New Zealand has a different political system to most places I guess - with MMP , so it is easier for smaller parties and opinions to get representation >

What other developed western nation has had an incumbent President lose and then lie about the election results, incite a violent attack on the elected representatives and face no consequences? >

How did y’all’s insurrection go?
Oh, you haven’t had one yet? Not you Brazil. I’m talking to everyone else. >

Yeah I don’t think it’s worth evaluating the other factors here. If the president can lead a coup and walk free, yes politics are worse in the US than elsewhere. >

Also there is the whole teetering on the verge of fascism aspect. Shocked how optimistic this comments section is. >

Turmoil will always be part of any democratic system by design. It's part of necessary civil struggle that lets politically opposing points of view exist at the same time. It's going to look messy and winners and losers aren't always graceful. 
I think there's been an increase in the multiplicity of viewpoints in media since the internet really took off and that's engaged more people in the political process but I think people tend to point to a peaceful past in politics that never existed or time periods like the gulf war or after 9/11 where crafty presidential leadership gave the appearance of a unified front in domestic politics. 
I think, paradoxically, there is more rhetorical strife though. I think there is a general understanding that the world is on the cusp of a series of paradigm shifts brought on by a lot of different factors. The churn of history is maybe felt stronger right now, leading to a greater intensity in rhetoric and political urgency. There's a great quote from the pre-wwi 1910s attributed to the italian writer Antonio Gramsci "The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters." . I think we are living in one of those times he was describing >

A sign that american politics is, in fact worse, is that basic human, government-provided services are still being debated in the US as to whether or not they're viable, whereas the rest of the western world is debating on how to improve these services to their citizens. >

Europe's status quo is propped up by our security guarantees to them. Their whole focus on "government funded services" falls apart in circumstances where the U.S. bailing them out when Russia wants to mess with them stops being something they can take for granted. We're witnessing a peak of this when Germany and France had to be forced into adopting more stern anti-russian stances post feb 2022. >

Without US security guarantees they'd adjust their social spending.  Norway has high spending but also high taxes.  They operate a balanced budget.  They and other europeans generally tolerate it because they see tangible results.
The US spends around the same % of GDP of on public healthcare as the UK but the US doesn't cover everyone.  
Singapore spends a fraction and has one of the top rated public healthcare systems in the world.  They design their systems to encourage personal responsibility and try to make them sustainable and efficient.  They give people basic healthcare and keep prices down but people will still strive for better healthcare.  
Their philosophy is each generation, family and individual should pay there own way.  Only then should they look to govt help.  Both Europe and the US should look at how they do social programs. >

I think most people are just worried about the nukes, war could break out between any of the powerhouses depending on who gets in. Another thing to factor in is that a TON of American politicians are borderline fascists. Some are just straight up fascists. Fascism has been on the rise in America for a while now and it's only getting worse with people like Kanye West, Nick Fuentes, and other influencial people pushing the narrative. And to add to the dumpster fire Religion (Specifically Christianity) has American politics by the balls. Roe V Wade overturning was a prime example of this >

We have known traitors in Congress actively legislating laws that will help them avoid consequences for an insurrection. Anyone who tries to sugarcoat our politics in this thread is probably a Qonservative. Our democracy is broken, thoroughly. >

I mean Italy elected a fascist party into power and Hungary has one of the most successful wannabe dictators in the western world. 
We're pretty bad but just remember europeans can be just as stupid as us. >

I would say it depends how you rate it. If you think the outcomes (economy, global influence etc.) should matter the most, then I think US politics is definitely much better than many or even most European countries. However, I would say the Congress Riot and all the false claims are enough to say American politics is worse than many European countries. The denial of election in national level is just something I saw a lot in many “third-world countries”. >

The most important thing to read about is January 6th, 2021. 
There are , I think , 10 Jan 6th committee hearings to watch.
Americans and Non-Americans alike tend to assume that the enormous military budget, world wide military bases, and global soft-power of the US will keep us safe and stable.
Just remember that the Capitol police were overrun and screaming for the National Guard, but the USNG didn't show up for over 3 hours because entrenched Republican party government officials wanted to wait and see if the coup could work and if they could eradicate the opposition in one swoop. >

It’s funny cuz American politicians have better approval ratings than most other western countries >

Political effectiveness like economic effectiveness, is about choice. The more choice you have the better you usually feel about your decisions. And just as when comcast is your only choice, things suck when a single political party is your only choice.
Which tends to be the case with winner-take-all (FPTP) voting systems. Different countries have different voting systems but historically English countries tend to have this is common. US and UK have the worst examples but feelings of powerlessness are still to common. And these problems are the result. >

On the ground level United Statesians are much more upset with each other over politics then Canadians are. People are carrying around a lot more anger and a hell of a lot more fear.  
I am certain that US politics is biologically more harmful to them then the bulk of other wealthy nations due to that stress component. >

The democracy we have at home is pretty different than it was 10 years ago, and it wasn’t the Perfect Democracy then either. 
Compromise and diplomacy were never our strong suit but the recent gridlock between the two parties is crazy-pants insane. Add in the stochastic terrorism (see 1/6/20), literal domestic terrorism at power plants, the Jewish Space Laser lady on the Homeland Security Committee, the Freedom Caucus in general, and I haven’t even mentioned anything the twice-impeached former President did officially.
Worse? Maybe, hard to know enough about national politics everywhere to say, but you hear about it so much from foreigners because we export that crazy through global power, economic, political, and social. >

If your argument starts with “The news is all fake” I can’t take you seriously and no one else should either. The primary news outlet of the right is all opinion shows and their top rated presenter claims in court that no reasonable person should take him seriously because he’s an entertainer. Alex Jones isn’t better. >

I honestly believe that many of the United States' issues are due to the "f you, got mine" mentality that exists in capitalism.  In a capitalist socialist nation, you see more "we" instead of "me." In the US, things are very self-centered.  I think due to our immaturity as a nation as well as our excplosive growth in the first 200 years.  We are also bringing ALL nationalities into one country, and that creates clashes.  I think it would also help if Americans were as well traveled as the EU population is.  Exposure to different cultures generally creates empathy and understanding.  Americans can't even usually speak more than one language.  I noticed the severity of this when overseas with the military.  The Europeans i met were shocked that I was learning the culture and language of the country I was living in.  Frankly, I find that sad.  Many of our political differences can be traced to this self-centered mentality that is literally being bred into the US. 
And yes, I am an American. >

No, it isn't.
The difference is, is that the actions the United States takes on a global stage impacts other countries disproportionately to how their internal politics affects us.
Let's look at what has happened in other countries recently, for example. Look at Italy, for example. Italy's current government is a populist right wing backlash...but no one outside of Europe cares because it doesn't impact anyone besides maybe the refugees trying to settle in Italy. If the U.S. has a right wing backlash, meanwhile, it means  there's potential for a right wing president (should he have a congress that's backing him) to withdraw from NATO, which will completely pull the rug out from underneath a dozen or so countries in regards to their defense policies. Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Hungry, Finland, and a bunch of other countries are now affected by the U.S's actions, and suddenly and internal political affair becomes international.
Let's also take, New Zealand. Their Prime Minister suddenly resigns- shocking, but doesn't impact anyone. Joe Biden suddenly resigns...it means Kamala might take the helm, who is so deeply unpopular that it might result in her losing in 2024 should she decided to run for another term, or it means an unknown person will be president beyond 2024. This has an impact on the world, because whoever becomes president, an R or a D, again will determine how we react to China, Iran, Russia, and all the other continents/countries.
Our politics aren't more crazy than other countries - our politics receive more attention than other countries because American politics have an impact on citizens in other nations. The American voting populace is one of the most powerful demographics to ever exist on this planet.
Canada and the U.K are having a cost of living crisis more severe than the U.S. Sweden and Italy had right wing backlashes. France almost went there. Eastern Europe backslid democratically all together. Iran is hanging people for democracy. Russia is in a war that it's pretending doesn't exist to its own people. China had its first riots since tianamen. Africa sucks so hard their people are flooding to Europe. Brazil had their own Jan 6th moment. Mexico is in a low grade civil war with the cartels. 
The U.S. is doing fine, even if its a little bumpy right now as we emerge into the post - covid world. >

I know there are other countries with worse political drama but everything is relative and our political discourse is much worse than it has been for awhile.  This was actually planned by Newt Gingrich and the insurrection on  jan 6th is the culmination of decades of working to weaponize politics. >

Do you mean the attempt make massive political hay from a small out of hand riot instigated by a very few?
I really doubt you can blame three failed, mostly baseless prosecutions on President on Gingrich.... >

US politics effect a lot of the world because we have a huge economy and a huge military. The US dollar is used as a base for currency (reserve currency) trades for a reason.   
Oddly, Americans/ US Citizens (especially Republicans) still like to act as though we are the underdog in geopolitics… We might not be great for all our citizens, but that doesn’t mean we should disregard our actual place at the top- we are the only ‘super power’ right now- and that isn’t a brag. It does explain why US politics are so important though, and why we shouldn’t have irrational actors in top government positions.   
Our Senators have more power than most countries leaders, because of our money and military. I feel like too many in the US really don’t get that.      
We are energy independent- look at exports vs imports. We also are top in refining fuels to make them useable. Then we have agriculture- again, we are at the top. Manufactured goods? Yep, we have that covered too, and Biden has made concrete investments in making sure we have domestic production to guard against being dependent upon others.   
However, if you ask most people in the US, they would tell you that we are a desperate/ poor nation being taken advantage of by our neighbors. They honestly believe we are dependent on Saudi Arabia and China - we aren’t. No one makes us act as ‘world police’- we do it for our own benefit to maintain power.   
I don’t mind disagreeing about how we use or abuse that power, but pretending that it doesn’t exist is just bullshit. >

The only real thing that makes American politics 'worse' is the scale. The US is the third most populous country on the planet, and has the fourth largest land mass. The problems you see in the US are similar problems that exist in all representative democracies, but the problems themselves are exaggerated by the scale at which they have to be solved. This is not helped by the artificial restraint on the size of the House. In a better system, there would be three-ish times more representatives in Congress, but with the restraint of 435, problems of corruption get concentrated as fewer individuals hold more power. >

No, the reason for 435 is, to be frank, 1) the House representative numbers will always be lagging behind, 2) the House will need a complete rebuild every Census, and 3) more people means less governability.
​
Also, it should be noted that due to the technological context we're now saddled with, democracy as we know it isn't viable. That's what happens when the internet isn't regulated to hell and back and memetic weapons are a genuine thing (blame Russia opening that particular genie from the bottle). >


1) the House representative numbers will always be lagging behind, 

I'm not sure why this is a point in favor of a cap. 

2) the House will need a complete rebuild every Census, 

the house is elected every 2 years anyways, not sure what this means. 

and 3) more people means less governability.

More people means more citizen influence on governing. A smaller citizen-to-rep ratio is better representation. 

due to the technological context we're now saddled with, democracy as we know it isn't viable

we've not really given democracy much of a chance. with our winner-take-all, fptp systems that allow states to override people. >


More people means more citizen influence on governing. A smaller citizen-to-rep ratio is better representation.

Nope, it means unviable governance. The original rep to pop ratio would mean somewhere around 1500 reps, all of whom need to be placated in some way... in an era where pork is an expiative. Governance stability tends to break down the closer to 1000 you get.

the house is elected every 2 years anyways, not sure what this means.

The House will need to be torn down and rebuilt every census, just to catch up.

we've not really given democracy much of a chance. with our winner-take-all, fptp systems that allow states to override people.

... wow, that's somewhat ignorant. We've done the math and, sadly, no matter what we do in terms of voting systems it always ends the same, exact way: a two/three party system. How long it takes is dependent on various variables but it always ends there.
​
Largely because of the human condition -which is quite Hobbesian or otherwise well within the 'pessimist' end of the spectrum, I'm afraid. Technology also has a major say about this and oh boy does it give the middle finger to democracy... at least of democracy as we know it. >


Governance stability tends to break down the closer to 1000 you get.

the bundestag seems to handle 750 just fine. 

The House will need to be torn down and rebuilt every census, just to catch up.

hang on are you suggesting that the world's only superpower, that maintains 10 or so nuclear aircraft carriers, can't handle chairs? just can't figure out chairs? seating is something we can't do? 

... wow, that's somewhat ignorant. We've done the math and

why did you ignorantly assume the goal of changing voting systems is "a different number of parties" rather than "more democracy" >


why did you ignorantly assume the goal of changing voting systems is "a different number of parties" rather than "more democracy"

Because the two are one and the same in most people's eyes? Historically, more democracy tends to be a mixed bag idea at best... and with our technological context a very bad idea.

hang on are you suggesting that the world's only superpower, that maintains 10 or so nuclear aircraft carriers, can't handle chairs? just can't figure out chairs? seating is something we can't do?

On some of the most expensive land, with an entire political party who hates the government, and a people who don't like getting taxed in general?
​
You would be surprised.
​
Also, most of the USN is in need of a serious overhaul and Congress will never dispense the money for it, because they've gone back to their old ways of 'starve the military for money until a war erupts' mentality.

the bundestag seems to handle 750 just fine.

From my understanding? It's a yes and a no. At the surface? Sure. Under that surface (and exacerbated thanks to Russia), no. >


Historically, more democracy tends to be a mixed bag idea at best... and with our technological context a very bad idea.

not sure where this is coming from

because they've gone back to their old ways of 'starve the military for money until a war erupts' mentality.

current DOD budget is 775 billion, yearly. 

Under that surface (and exacerbated thanks to Russia), no.

a lot better than the US >


not sure where this is coming from

Because we're in this sort of situation because we simply added more democracy because of the erroneous assumption that more democracy is good (basically, we didn't stop and ask ourselves the question of how it would be manipulated by bad actors).
​
Then there is the fact that no one asked the question of how technology would change the political environment in any level of seriousness.

current DOD budget is 775 billion, yearly.

Which is vastly short of what we're asking of it... and most of that budget is in things like boots and spare parts.

a lot better than the US

Sorry, but the Nazi Party 2.0 has been making serious waves over the last decade or so... >


we simply added more democracy 

when? When did that happen? >

I'm in the UK and I think the US is worse in some ways.  
The cost for the ME senate seat in 2020 was $93 million. The 2019 general election total cost was $86 million.  UK has a population of 67 million.  ME has a population of 1.37 million.  Obviously there was a lot of outside money pouring in.
Total cost of the US 2020 federal election spending was $14.4 billion.  If the UK spending was adjusted for the US population then the spending would have been $423 million. 
So even UK spending is high but US also has midterms where 2022 was almost $9 billion. 
Rich donors are not pouring all that money into US elections for nothing.  
US public healthcare spending is about the same as the UK.  The UK covers everyone.  US only covers a portion.   There's still no public option in the US.  There was some limited drug price capping in the US passed.  They've been talking about that for 20 years and it's so meagre it's laughable.  
What is the problem with a prime minister resigning?  US house speakers typically last a single term if they are republican.  
In the UK we did have SHTF with our run of prime ministers.  I would wait and watch how the US house speaker manages these 2 years and the turmoil before casting judgement.
We've seen government shutdowns in the US even when the president agreed to demands by the other side but the other side just wanted chaos and refused to fold when their demands were met (eg. Obama agreeing to social security cuts).  The US has a debt ceiling meaning money that has already been spent must be negotiated again and republicans in the house are hellbent on manufacturing a crisis.
It took 15 rounds to elect the US house speaker.  Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak combined did not take that many rounds.  The Truss election had 5 ballots as the lowest share member got eliminated and there was a new round till 2 remained and were presented to party members to vote.
Norms and conventions have broken in the US.  Look at George Santos.  He's like an alien that is infiltrating the US government with a whole new manufactured identity.  Any second he will rip off his skin to reveal he is reptilian.  So many horribly corrupt politicans get away with their crimes.  We're getting worse in the UK but they will be made to resign eventually.
Racial minorities are disenfranchised from voting eg. ND where republicans required standard residential addresses on voter ID to vote so native americans relying on PO Boxes couldn't vote.  
In the UK we are taking note and copying some republican crap too but we haven't wholesale broken down yet.  When we do it will be worse as we don't have an entrenched constitution so whoever is in power can change all the rules.  
US lawmakers draw the lines of districts in most states so they just rig the maps.  The supreme court says it is illegal to do so on a racial basis but they just accept the word of lawmakers if they say they did it for partisan advantage.  
America is so much further along in decay and corruption.  It's not that others are totally pure, we're just further behind in the race. >

I mean “western” is a fairly vague term.  It would be pretty difficult to make the case that American politics are worse than those of Russia, Brazil, Venezuela, Hungary or Mexico. >

Do other western countries have active fascist movements who tried to overthrow the government and want to convert minorities and poor people into fertilizer? >

American politics is healthy, the gloves are off and the parties are checking the piss out of each other.  We are coming off the first twice impeached president, and almost certain to see more investigations and scandals.
This is democracy, a big messy truth.  When everything appears smooth and all you see is pressed suits and fake smiles, you know those snakes are getting away with too much. >

There's nothing healthy about stoking an attack on the Capitol to overturn an election. >

Healthy like the Weimar Republic after the Beer Hall Putsch. >

Ill say this
Almost 70-80% population in what you described the Western nations would agree their countries are not the best and henceforth expectations are low enough to tolerate
But Americans? 70-80% of American population has no doubt their country is da best nation in the world setting up high expectations.
So yes if we take this into account, American politics is quite lame and pathetic perhaps >


Almost 70-80% population in what you described the Western nations would agree their countries are not the best and henceforth expectations are low enough to tolerate
But Americans? 70-80% of American population has no doubt their country is da best nation in the world setting up high expectations.

Ever been to France, Italy, England, or almost any European nation? In all of them, you will find tons of people who believe that their culture is the "best" or "correct" way of navigating the world. More simply, nationalism exists everywhere. >

The French are notoriously insufferable. In fact, insufferability is a leading export of France. >

We may have been through three Prime Ministers in a year, and Brexit may have been an absolute shitshow which caused huge division, but no groups are arming up and calling for a civil war in the UK.
When I look at groups like the Proud Boys and the militia movement in the US, it makes me glad that British politics still retains an air of civility.