Matthew Yglesias has written for Vox a long article with a shock title, "American Democracy Is Doomed." His basic point is that our current federal gridlock with the President and Congress on opposite sides, trying to sabotage each other, is dysfunctional and likely to eventually end in revision.
It is certainly true that parliamentary governments rarely suffer from gridlock. Some like those of Israel and Italy do find the coalition process cumbersome and awkward.
A national consensus on means and goals would be welcome, but is extremely unlikely. Such consensus only appears in reaction to a severe external threat, like 9/11. I suppose we'll stumble along our present path until a big threat occurs.
History gives us some insight about gridlock. The Founders intended making government action difficult because they feared a too-powerful, too-active, interventionist government. Thus they designed opportunities for gridlock into the system.
