LETTER: US political system was deliberately designed on federalism and republicanism
Expanding Congress the only way to give the popular vote more expression in the Electoral College
The usually astute Steven Friedman is correct when he says the US is not a democracy, but his criticism is misplaced as this was the express intention of the country’s founders — to establish a country based on the principles of federalism and republicanism. It would be more appropriate to describe the US as a constitutional republic where states and the federal government share power, with states’ rights subordinate to the constitution. This introduces a level of competition between states that is a breeding ground for successful policy at federal level, and prevents a monopoly of power by the national ruling party as in SA. The concept of one person one vote having a different impact for different legislative chambers is not unique to the US, many other successful countries with bicameral parliaments have a similar issue. In Australia, Tasmania (population 500,000 ) has the same say as New South Wales (population 7-million) in the Senate. The US system tries to strike a balance be...
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