The New Physics of Gridlock in a Polarized Capital: Ezra Klein

Here’s the general theory of legislative failure: Political polarization leads to congressional gridlock, and congressional gridlock leads to legislative inaction. If Congress can’t get its act together, then the worst that happens is nothing gets done.

But that standard version of political physics is wrong, or at least incomplete. Political polarization does lead to congressional gridlock, but congressional gridlock often leads not to inaction, but to extra-congressional action -- that is, action that either skirts Congress altogether or radically subverts the normal legislative process. If you believe government should be accountable, efficient and, for business, predictable, that’s not a good outcome.