It's the Fourth of July - Do You Feel Like Celebrating?

If You're Worried About the State of American Politics, You're Not Alone. But We Can Do Something About It. Here's How.

On this July 4, I want to talk about politics. As you might have noticed, the last two episodes of FOMO Sapiens have been all about the sad state of affairs in American politics. I decided to run those two episodes because I believe that we need to step back and think deeply about why American seems to be struggling right now. We have failed to address the challenges presented by COVID, we have failed to address systemic racism, our economy is in a tailspin, and people are divided and unhappy. It's feels terrible to write these things, but they're true. We cannot ignore what's going on and we must come together to fix things before it's too late.

That's the reason why I decided to run TWO episodes in a row about the American political system is this: When the political system doesn’t work, then it’s hard to get anything else done. Businesses rely on government to work effectively in order to thrive. Citizens rely on government to work effectively in order to succeed.  And all of us rely on government to work effectively in order to keep us safe. When government doesn’t work effectively  - and right now it doesn’t – then we all suffer.  A dysfunctional government is a national security threat and an economic threat. 

The evidence is clear: Consider a study from the Competitiveness Project, an initiative from Harvard Business School that is co-chaired by Michael Porter, father of modern business strategy and creator of Porter’s Five Forces. This study found that while the United States continues to be highly competitive in areas like higher education and entrepreneurship, it is weak in areas like the tax code, infrastructure, health care. The reason for these failings is the dysfunction in Washington. Lawmakers lack the consensus to address these problems and to craft policy to prepare America for the future.  As a result, the country is falling behind. Hope is not lost, however, and there is a chance to turn things around.  

In their new book, The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy, Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter apply Porter’s Five Forces to the industry of politics.  In doing so, they discover that the problem in American politics is that there is no competition. The two major political parties – the Democrats and the Republicans – have divided the market into a duopoly and thus have no reason to collaborate or to innovate. They are too focused on accumulating resources for themselves to do something for the voters in general.  They are too beholden to special interests and their bases to think beyond these two influences.  This is no accident – it is by design – and it must be changed. 

I first read about Gehl and Porter’s view of politics as a duopoly over two years ago in a Harvard Business School case study (you can download it for free here). It made a deep impression on me.  Now, with their new book, they are back to provide a set of solutions to increase competition in politics and to get things working again.  Naturally, their solution focuses on breaking the duopoly of the two-party system. 

Gehl and Porter aren’t the first people to identify that having just two parties could be problematic.  In fact, the two-party system has been an entrenched feature of the U.S. electoral system since its inception- despite the ominous warnings of its first President, George Washington, who chastised the fledgling America that a party-based system “agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another."

Although it might seem daunting, reforming this seemingly intractable obstacle to truly representative democracy can begin with addressing the way we vote. Among the interventions Gehl and Porter suggest is a switch to a form of ranked-choice voting, in which voters are able to express preference for a series of candidates, giving so-called "third party" candidates greater opportunity than in a simple majority "winner takes all" system.

So this Fourth of July, do me a favor: Check out this week’s episode of FOMO Sapiens with Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter about how to fix American politics (and last week’s, too, if you want to hear more about why American politics is broken). You can find them on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.  Then, head over to the Institute for Political Innovation and find out how you can get involved in driving change.

Also, if you want even more FOMO Sapiens, head over to Spotify where I’ve created thematic playlists  - like “Entrepreneurs,” “Politics,” “Mission-Driven Businesses,” and “The Best of” that you can fire up and enjoy.