The “melting pot” metaphor refers to the idea that different cultures and peoples can come together, combining their unique characteristics while losing their distinctiveness as they become part of something greater. This metaphor has been used to describe immigration into the United States in particular, implying that immigrants should assimilate into a larger American culture.
more diverse Congress with smaller parties such as the Tea Party and the Green Party earning a seat at the congressional table. While they may finally be in prominent public office, the chances that they would hold any real power are slim to none as the Democrats and Republicans would continue to remain dominant. Also, politicians would have more incentives to campaign across their whole state, instead of simply campaigning in their lone districts as the state vote would determine proportional seating. On a positive note, Niel Franzese of the Connecticut Law Review points out “such a situation might motivate voters to participate in primaries that they had not in the past in hopes of taking advantage of a renewed chance to have their voices heard in a new type of primary election,” (Franzese, 274).
Moving to medium term consequences, political parties would become more fragmented as varying political parties would form to capture a piece of the voting allotment. Adding to the fragmentation, parties that were once strong may begin to weaken such as how the Tea Party has begun to take strength away from the Republican Party. On October 29, 2015, Stephanie Schriock of The Hill, claims the Tea Party has already been “rigging the congressional map with safe Republican districts,” securing seats they normally would not have a chance at winning. This trend could stretch across political party boundaries as “floor crossing” and inter-party coalitions formed to produce certain election outcomes.
Finally, the long-term implications of applying Brazilian electoral policies to the United States could prove disastrous. With an already weakening party system, the chances of collusion and bribery will rise exponentially. Furthermore, as the United States continues to experience a withering middle class, there would be cause for greater social uprisings. Adding into the class structure assessment, “class structures have become far more polarized in advanced capitalist countries,” (Bastos, 153), and with improbable representation as a whole, the polarization would continue to worsen.
Now the issue with this hypothetical scenario is just that, it is hypothetical. The various implications that have been stated lead one down a slippery slope that breeds pessimism and neglects the possibility of a positive outcome. For as far as any political scientist can discern, a proportional system may very well be the answer to cure the United States polarization, allowing for better representation of areas such as the “forgotten” conservative Rust Belt, the outspoken liberal West Coast, and the mixed progressive
