Why do we have political parties?

Why do we have political parties?

Matthew Jones (Political Science Instructor) gives expert video advice on: Why do we have political parties?; Is the US really only a two-party system?; Who decides what the party stands for? and more...

When democratic elections first started happening in Britain, they figured out that one of the most effective ways to win an election is to create an organization that groups people together in a common political identity. So, we get the idea of "I am a Republican or Democrat and the guy who's running for office is Republican or Democrat." That's an easy connection we have and so naturally, my deep position is to vote for the guy with the same political identity. It's just an effective way to win elections. That's a simple way to put it. That's one of the main reasons why we have political parties. It's not to organize and take positions but to win elections. That's the reason they exist and that's what they're there to do and political parties do it very effectively.