Final answer:
Value judgements between political parties are affected by increased polarization and the tendency of parties to moderate their stances to win elections, which challenges open-minded discussion and policy coherence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The issue with value judgements between political parties, specifically in the United States, concerns the difficulty individuals have in evaluating political positions of members from the opposing party without bias. As confirmed by Pew Research, citizens' beliefs have become starkly polarized over the past decades, with the gap in agreement on value statements significantly widening, indicating a strong ideological divide that impedes objective discussion and compromise. The two-party system exacerbates this by creating ambiguity in policy alternatives, as parties often gravitate towards moderate positions to secure election victories, which can lead to internal disagreements and hinder coherent policy implementation.
Political parties serve as heuristics in helping voters make decisions, often simplifying the complex platforms into binary choices, which emphasizes the brand of the party rather than the nuances of a candidate's stance. This simplified identification with a party can manifest as discrimination against those of the opposing ideology, a phenomenon observed to be comparable with, or exceeding, racial discrimination. Compounding this issue, the reality of political ideology influencing decision-making extends to the judiciary, where justices' personal beliefs can affect their rulings, thereby underscoring the pervasive nature of partisanship throughout the political system.