"The American two-party electoral system, with its ballyhoo and hoopla, its impresarios and stunt artists, is the greatest show on earth. Campaign time is show time, a veritable circus brought into our living rooms via television as a form of entertainment. The important thing is that the show must go on - because it is more than just a show. The two-party system electoral social order. It channels and limits political expression, and blunts class grievances. It often leaves little time for the real issues because it gives so much attention to the contest per se who will run? who is ahead? who will win the primaries? who will win the election? It provides the form of republican government with little of the substance. It fives the plutocratic system of appearance of popular participation while being run by and for a select handful of affluent contestants."
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Academics from the United StatesHistorians from the United StatesCritics from the United StatesCultural criticsMedia critics
Original Language: English
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Chapter 11, p. 179
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Parenti
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Michael Parenti
Michael Parenti (September 30, 1933 – January 24, 2026) was an American political scientist, historian and media critic.
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