Political Parties Flashcards
What can a political spectrum be used for?
Way of seeing different political views in relation to one another
What are left wing part tendencies in terms of policy?
Favours nationalisation of public services, large state intervention in social and economic policy, aiming for greater quality
What are centre tendencies in terms of policy?
Favours less state intervention but some regulation from the government on key policies
What are right wing tendencies in terms of policy?
Favours privitisation of some public services, lessened state intervention in social and economic policy and greater personal autonomy
What are the different ideologies in order from left-> right?
Communism
Socialism
Liberalism (centre)
Conservatism
Fascism
What is the horseshoe theory?
Communism and Facism are most similar (both extremist theories)
What does an Authoritarian rule mean?
government requires strict obedience to the authority of the state
What does a Libertarian rule mean?
rights of the individual are favoured over the state. Some cases government is believed to hinder individuals freedoms
What does Left wing + Libertarian create?
Social Democracy
What is Social Democracy?
Society is a collection of small self regulatory communities that have no state input
What does Left wing + Authoritarian create?
State communism
What is State Communism?
Society is strictly controlled by the government making laws about how people can live
- Economic and fiscal policy controlled by the government
What does Right wing + Authoritarian create?
(traditional Conservatism)
What does traditional Conservatism mean?
Economic and fiscal deregulated to encourage free enterprise
What does Right wing + Libertarian create?
Neo-Liberalism
What are the Left, Centre and Right wing views on economy?
L State economic planning and nationalisation of all major industries
C Largely free market economy with some state regulation
R Strong support for totally free markets.
What are the Left, Centre and Right wing views on the welfare state?
R Limited welfare system targeted at small minority
L Extensive welfare state
C Strong welfare system but targeted at most needy.
What are the Left, Centre and Right wing views on culture and migration?
L Pro multiculturalism
R Anti immigration, asylum seeking and multiculturalism
C Tolerance of minorities
What is a political party?
an organization of people with similar political opinions, which develops a series of goals its seeks to convert into action by obtaining office. It usually pursues these goals by mobilizing public opinion, selecting candidates and competing in elections.
How can parties differ?
- in membership
- in organisation
- in broadness of values
- in aim
How can political parties differ in membership?
Some parties are mass membership, with lots of members (such as the UK Labour Party), others may only have a small leadership group who seek supporters rather than members (such as the main US parties).
How can political parties differ in organisation?
Some parties are highly organised with a formal permanent organisation, such as the German CDU, whilst others are loose, less permanent (like the US).
How can political parties differ in broadness of value?
Some parties have a very narrow range of values and views, and are intensely united around those views, such as Reform UK; others have a broad range of people and their opinions cause them to split into factions, like within the Conservative Party.
How can political parties differ in aim?
Some parties are very focused on gaining power, namely Labour and the Conservatives, whilst others seek merely to influence the political system (the Green Party).