[singron]

I think America really likes them because the alternative seems like "virtual representation" (i.e. representatives represent everyone, not a local district), which was part of why they rebelled against England. The theory is you want someone to represent your local area specifically rather than all representatives trying (badly) to balance the needs of everyone.

I don't know what the difference would really be in practice, although I think the other comments in this thread about lack of proportional representation would probably apply. I think it sort of comes down to how much worse you think Tyranny of the Majority is than what we have currently (or if you want an actual proportional representation system instead).