How does a Parliament work? My impression of it is that it is chaotic and unproductive in solving country’s issues. Every single issue is brought up and before one member finishes speaking, a few others would jump in and interrupt. Why is this system used? Is the a better alternative?
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A parliament works by having its members (1) control the government and (2) take votes to create laws, including budgets.
First, MPs get to question the ministers of the government. The ministers must answers these questions by providing facts or explanations of what they want or wanted to do with their policies. If MPs lose confidence in a minister, that minister must resign. It can also be the government as a whole that needs to go, but that depends on the specifics of the constitution in each country. Losing a motion of confidence means the end of the government. Someone else might try to find a new parliamentary majority, or new elections will have to happen.
If the government proposes a new law, a budget, or a change to an existing law (usually written by their civil servants), they have to win majority support for their proposal in parliament. MPs can also bring their own legal proposals or amendments up for discussion. Usually MPs specialize in a few topics and become part of a special committee, so that they can contribute more meaningfully. In the end, the goal is to get to a law that has majority support in parliament. Before that happens, there is usually a lot of debate between MPs and the government, as well as between MPs in general. A good parliamentary debate is regulated by [the Speaker](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAM-YW-6vdU&ab_channel=OnDemandNews) of the parliament, who gets to decide who can speak and on which issue there will be a vote. Interrupters may be punished by that Speaker.
Why is this system used? Because parliament is sovereign and can therefore set its own rules. Its legitimacy comes from the voters, through direct elections. Those are also the people/constituency they have to answer to. Is there a better alternative? There are certainly alternatives, but I don’t know by what yardstick they should be measured as better.
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