Topic 2: Party Policies and Ideas

Question 1

Political Parties (5)

Answer 1

• Group of people organised to gain government power by standing for election (in a democracy)
• Aim to exercise government power by winning office
• Small parties aim to get a political platform through elections
• Typically adopt broad issue focus
• Members united by shared political preference and ideological identity

Question 2

Left/right (3 each)

Answer 2

LEFT
- Based on optimistic views of human nature
- Favour social change
- Support liberty, equality and state intervention
RIGHT
- Pessimistic about human nature
- Oppose change
- Favour order, authority and oppose state intervention

Question 3

Liberalism (5)

Answer 3

• Individualism - rights and entitlements
• Freedom
• Toleration - safeguard diversity and debate
• Classic liberalism - minimal state and free-market capitalism
• Modern liberalism - social welfare and economic intervention

Question 4

Conservatism (3)

Answer 4

• Tradition
• Human imperfection
• Hierarchy and authority - ‘natural’ top-down organisation

Question 5

Socialism (5)

Answer 5

• Fraternity
• Cooperation - preference for working together not competition
• Equality - aversion to class divisions
• TWO TYPES:
  
  • Fundamentalist socialists - abolish capitalism and replace with collective leadership
  • Revisionist socialists - reform capitalism

Question 6

Factionalism (3)

Answer 6

• When groups of like minded-politicians form, usually around a key leader
• Support of a set of preferred policies
• e.g Old Left in the Labour Party, Purple Labour (neo-Blairites) and Thatcherities in the Conservative Party

Question 7

Consensus Politics (3)

Answer 7

• Ideas overlap between parties
• Broad agreement allows disagreement on details/emphasis
• e.g post-war consensus

Question 8

Adversary Politics (3)

Answer 8

• Deep ideological conflicts
• Parties offer rival ideological visions
• e.g 1980s