It is not the system, that functioned fine while racism was equal in the parties and blacks got thrown under the bus, however things change and liberal democracies change over time. Systemic racism is why Americans don't have universal single payer healthcare, it's the same reason they completely fucked up their education system too. It enables corruption that feeds off social division and coning the useful idiots driven by fear and racism. It has gotten more acute, as white domination is slipping in America and "they is taken over", same thing for immigration, most immigrants these days are brown, black, Asian or Muslim and they have alienated them all, along with LBGTQ people and women.
The political division feeds off the social division, most of which some hate radio or Foxnews right wingnut script writer pulled out of their arse, or expanded an existing division, sometimes they even lift the narrative right from the Russians themselves, cheaper I guess. They got working people hating unions, dog whistle word, socialism, real reason black people are treated as equals and unions are generally socially progressive. They refuse to form a sharing and caring human community with the "other", the perceived enemy and they are at civil war, I call em civil warriors. Like civil warriors they will sacrifice themselves for the larger "cause" and would rather die a painful death from cancer, than have big guberment socialist healthcare, dog whistle for, blacks might get some too and they would literally rather die than let that happen.
Ever hear the phrase, " Cut yer nose off to spite yer face"?
An example:
An excerpt from “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.”
www.marketplace.org