Graduation Year

2025

Date of Submission

12-2024

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Philosophy

Reader 1

Professor Briana Toole

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Abstract

Why is it inevitable for every U.S. national election to end up between Democrats and Republicans? Present in the works of scholars addressing this issue is the notion that some combination of individual voter agency and elite interests play a role in perpetuating this dichotomy. In this paper, I propose an account based on the literature on this issue: the thesis that elite interests ensure the reproduction of the two-party system by manufacturing consent to the system. I first introduce Noam Chomsky’s theory of manufactured consent. I then develop his model by situating manufactured consent within a broader discussion of the two-party system. Second, I defend the claim that political polarization is both a product of the two-party system and a tool wielded by elites to reinforce the two-party system. This ensures the system’s perpetuation and creates a feedbackloop within the system. Lastly, I provide one account of what motivates elites to perpetuate the two-party system. I examine the idea of elite capture, using Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò’s model to show how the two-party system serves the interests of elites. Finally, I demonstrate how elite capture of democracy inhibits class consciousness.

This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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