In the Washington Post Gillian Brockell explores how the House of Representatives has functioned in the past when it was very closely divided. The answer seems less encouraging than she suggests. In 1917, for instance, the Republicans had a plurality of seats, but not a majority, and third-party members joined the Democrats to elect a Democratic speaker. Did that divide cause gridlock? Not enough, in my view:

The 65th Congress was remarkably productive — not only did it authorize a declaration of war by a 373–50 vote, it also passed the 18th Amendment prohibiting alcohol, which requires a two-thirds majority in the House.

Just possibly the two worst votes taken by Congress in the 20th century. And Brockell left out the Espionage Act, the Sedition Act, and the Selective Service Act.

She also notes the great achievements of the 107th Congress in 2001–2002:

On big votes, like the Patriot Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the authorization for use of force in Iraq and Afghanistan, the party split didn’t matter at all: The vote margins were overwhelming.

Again not a great argument.

Too many Washingtonians — politicians, pundits, and journalists — believe that passing laws is a good thing, and passing more laws is a better thing. When Congress passes only, say, 296 laws in a two-year session, journalists call it “the least productive Congress in modern history.” I would urge journalists to think more carefully about whether passing more laws — that is more mandates, bans, regulations, taxes, subsidies, boondoggles, transfer programs, and authorizations for war — is a good thing. And whether the mere proliferation of laws is beneficial to society.

Is a judge “less productive” if he imprisons fewer people? Is a policeman less productive if he arrests fewer people? Government involves force, and I would argue that less force in human relationships is a good thing. Indeed I would argue that a society that uses less force is a more civilized society.

I can only hope that two years from now our divided 118th Congress will be described as “unproductive.”