political parties Flashcards
1
Q
what is socialism
2 parts
A
- a state of mind and a political movement that places such values as equality of opportunity, social justice and collectivism high on its scale of values.
- it is either opposed to free-market capitalism or proposes measures to moderate the undesirable effects of capitalism
2
Q
what is conservatism
4 parts
A
- a state of mind and a political movement that is naturally adverse to excessive change and reform
- it is sceptical about strongly held political views
- it prefers the known to the unknown
- generally supports the retention of traditions institutins and values
3
Q
what is liberalism
A
a state of mind and a political movement that places freedom, rights and tolerance high on its scale of values
4
Q
what is old labour/ social democracy
2 parts
A
- a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy
- supports a policy regime involving a commitment to representative democracy, measures for income redistribution, and regulation of the economy in the general interest and welfare state provision
5
Q
what is new labour/the third way
2 parts
A
- a movement to update Britain’s Labour Party by discarding the traditional Labour platform calling for state ownership of the means of production.
- the movement was led by Tony Blair, Prime Minister 1997-2007
6
Q
what is one nationism
3 parts
A
- one nation conservatism is a form of British political conservatism that views society as organic
- values paternalism and pragmatism.
- The phrase comes from Benjaminm Disraeli, Conservative Prime Minister 1976, 1874-1880
7
Q
what is new right
3 parts
A
- a political movement that became popular in the USA and Britain in the late 1970s and 1980s.
- it was largely a combination of very liberal attitudes towards the free market and capitalist economy and very conservative attitudes to society, morality and the maintenance of law and order.
- in the UK it is associated with Margaret Thatcher
8
Q
what is classic liberalism
A
a political philosophy and ideology belonging to liberalism in which primary emphasis is placed on securing the freedom of the individual by limiting the power of the government
9
Q
what is modern liberalism
2 parts
A
- focuses around the ue of the state for the benefit of society as a whole.
- it is generally associated with social welfare programs and a variety of other means that are used to support society
10
Q
what are party systems
A
a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country
11
Q
what is left wing
4 parts
A
- nationalisation of public services
- large state intervention in social and economic policy
- greater equality
- economic and fiscal policy is tightly controlled by the government
12
Q
what is factionalism
2 parts
A
- a tendency within parties to split into different internal groups who hold views that are at variance with the main beliefs of the party.
- such groups/factions may be formal groupings or merely informal tendencies
13
Q
what is consensus politics
4 parts
A
- a circumstance where two or more major political parties broadly agree on most basic poliicies.
- a period where there are few or no major political conflicts.
- it may refer to a singly issue where different parties agree to support the same policies.
- this implies a lack of strong ideology in politics
14
Q
adversary politics
3 parts
A
- the opposite of consensus.
- this is a circumstance where political parties are engaged in considerable conflict over political issues.
- this also implies that there are strong ideological conflicts in politics
15
Q
what is right wing
4 parts
A
- privatisation of some public services
- lessened state intervention in social and economic policy
- greater personal autonomy
- economic and fiscal deregulated to encourage free enterprise
16
Q
what is centre politics
A
less state intervention but some regulation from the government for key policies
17
Q
what is authoritarianism
2 parts
A
- society is strictly controlled by the government making laws about how people can live
- government requires a strict obedience to the authority of the state
18
Q
what is libertarianism
3 parts
A
- the rights of the individual are favoured over the state.
- in some cases government is believed to hinder individual freedom
- society is a collection of small self-regulatory communities that have no state input
19
Q
what is the left-right political spectrum
2 parts
A
- a way of seeing differing political views in relation to one another. these can be mapped across one or more axes
- more interested in economics on one axis
20
Q
features and functions of parties 1 - making policy
5 points
A
- sometimes known as aggregation
- involves identifying wide range of demands and converting into programmes of actions (consistent and compatible
- especially important when in opposition when seeking to replace government and communicate demands and ideas for policies (at local, regional and national level)
- involves civil servants, advisory units and committees, private advisers and rest of party have some say (conferences, committees) but in background,
- most decisions by ministers and advisers
21
Q
features and functions of parties 2 - representation
4 points
A
- representing a specific section of society (labour working classes, conservative aristocracy
- this has changed as now they all claim to represent national interests but in reality some parties still have biases towards certain subsections of society
- populist parties are rapidly emerging and represent people who feel neglected by traditional parties, play on people’s fears and dissatisfactions and are defined by what they’re opposed to
- rise of issue parties which represent particular causes (green party, women’s rights in europe) but still claim to have national interests at heart
22
Q
features and functions of parties 3 - selecting candidates
3 points
A
- local councillors, elected mayors, members of devolved assemblies and UK Parliament
- usually done at local levels through party committees staffed by activists
- national party leaders have some say
23
Q
features and functions of parties 4 - identifying leadera
4 points
A
- PM controls appointment of ministers
- opposition leader chooses frontbench spokespersons
- members can become trained as leaders due to formal organisations of parties
- libdem candidates need support of 10% of party MPs and support of at least 200 members spread across at least 20 local parties and then a vote
24
Q
features and functions of parties 5 - contesting elections
2 points
A
- parties publicise election issues, persuade people to vote and inform them about candidates
- represenatives are also present a vote counting to make sure election fair and honest
25
Q
features and functions of parties 6 - political education
4 points
A
- explain main areas of conflict and their solutions
- educate public on how politicl system works
- green party educate on environmental issues, UKIP on role and position of EU and labour on low pay, zero hour contracts and bedroom tax
- this role is becoming less important due to other methods of political education - media, think tanks and pressure groups
26
Q
features and functions of parties 7 - reinforcing consent
4 points
A
- ‘mobilisation and reinforcement of consent’
- operate and support parliamentary democracy
- parties ensure the general population consent to system
- if they challenge it, it would create political conflict - extremists
27
Q
how are political parties funded?
10 points
A
- collecting membership subscriptions from members
- holding fundraising events such as fees, festivals, conferences and dinners
- receiving donations from supporters
- raising loans from wealthy individuals or banks
- the self-financing of candidates for office
- up to £2 million per party available in grants from the electoral commission
- money granted to opposition parties in the commons and lords
- larger parties have better access than smaller parties
- conservatives receive funding from larger businesses and individuals
- labour receives funding from trade unions
28
Q
why is party funding controversial
4 points
A
- favours two biggest parties so causes political inequality and leaves small parties at a disadvantage at elections
- funding by large donors represents hidden and unaccoutable form of political influence - might expect political return for investment
- donors might expect an honour like peerage or knighthood - boarders on corrupt
- parties are more reliant on donors due to decline of party membership which further opens up possibility of corruption
29
Q
what are the possible solutions to party funding controversy?
4 points
A
- impose restrictions on the size of individual donation to parties - the cap would have to be relatively low to be effective
- impose tight restrictions on how much parties are allowed to spend - makes large scale funding futile
- restrict donations from certain groups i.e. outlaw donations from businesses, pressure groups and trade unions
- replace all funding with state grants for parties, paid for out of general taxation
30
Q
points FOR political parties being funded by the state
3 points
A
- would reduce corruption and reliance of special interest - more democratically responsive
- might break two party dominance
- if politicians didn’t need to raise funds, they could spend more time on policy making
31
Q
points AGAINST political parties being funded by the state
4 points
A
- might create bias in favour of existing party dominance - more votes received at last election, the more money they get (difficult to get money to smaller parties that receive less votes)
- businesses might be ignored if they are not needed by government
- state funding arguably already exists - short fund paid to oppositions parties winning seats in commons while also receiving over 150000 votes nationally and cranborne funds paid to opposition parties in HoL to help with administrative costs
32
Q
features of political parties
A
- the members of the parties share similar political values and views
- parties seek to either secure the election of their candidates as representatives or to form the government at various levels (local, regional, national)
- they have some kind of organisation that develops policy, recruits candidates and identifies leaders
33
Q
typical variations in the features of parties
A
- some are mass membership parties (labour party) while others have a small leadership group who seek supporters rather than members (main US parties)
- some parties may be highly organised with a formal permanent organisation (German Christian Democrats) while others have a loose, less permanent organisation (US parties that only organise fully during elections)
- some parties may have a very narrow range of values and views and are united around those views while others have a very broad range of views and values and so may be divided into factions
- some parties are very focused on gaining power (main parties in the USA) while others recognise they will not gain power but seek merely to influence the political system
