What is the ideal number of major political parties?

[ja1myn]

The invention of political parties goes down in history as one of the biggest screw ups of all time.

[Kirdik]

How can you abolish political parties? There are hundreds of different political parties in the US.

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by pch1013

By "major," let's use arbitrary threshhold of 10% of popular support. Currently no party other than the Big Two -- at least on Presidential ballot -- comes anywhere close.

So how many political parties -- if any -- do you think we should have in the U.S.?

Enough so that no party ever thinks that they have some kind of lock or monopoly on any segment of the population.

[keep them on their feet and working for the vote at all times]

[Randomstudent]

Two.

Zero is impossible because political parties will always form as a means of people using coalitions to game first past the post election system and with more then 2 political parties and a proportional system you get instability in the legislature and governance will not get done effectively.