Unit 1 - People And Politics Flashcards
What are some features of a representative democracy?
- Free, fair and regular elections at multiple levels
- Universal suffrage/wide franchise
- Range of political parties
- Pressure group activity
- Widespread civil rights
- Indirect as representatives act on behalf of the people
- Assembly of elected politicians who pass laws
What are the 3 key features of political parties?
- They seek to win political office
- They have a broad focus, with policies on many branches of society
- United by a shared general ideological identity.
What are the features of parliamentary democracy?
- Parliament is the highest source of political authority.
- Authority of government is drawn from Parliament.
- Members of the government are drawn from Parliament.
- Parliament can sack the government.
- Government is accountable to Parliament.
What are some defining features of a liberal democracy?
Similar to representative democracy but with
- a capitalist economy
- civil society (free press)
- guaranteed civil liberties and individual rights
Advantages of direct democracy
- Increased participation
- Encourages people to educate themselves and participate more.
- Makes access to the political system easier
- Forces the political elite to take into account the views of the people.
- Results in a more legitimate government as the people are truly in control and hence it is truly ‘democratic’.
Disadvantages of direct democracy
- People vote on their own selfish interests rather than for the benefit of society
- Logistical nightmare due to the huge population size
- People may not fully understand the issues at hand.
- Where would the people get their information? Media can become too powerful
- Majority rules at the expense of the minority.
Advantages of a representative democracy
- Representatives have better knowledge and hence better judgement
- May be able to arbitrate between different rival groups
- The ability to weigh up the needs of the minority against the demands of the majority
- Representatives have a more rational approach to problems whereas people may make decisions on selfish or emotional grounds.
Disadvantages of representative democracy
- Low rates of participation as public is isolated from the political process.
- Impracticality of delegate system
- Tyranny of the majority
- Representatives can lose touch with the electorate
- Not enough checks on power leading to “elective dictatorship”
- Marxist critique - political elite rule and represent interests of the ruling class
- Burke’s view has led to MPs ignoring the views of their constituents.
Key beliefs of Thatcherism
- atomistic society
- self reliance
- euro skepticism
- nationalism
- neoliberalism
- socially conservative
- neoconservatism
- privatisation
Key beliefs of One Nation Conservatism
- Organic society - in need of protection
- Social stability
- “Noblesse oblige”
- Traditional to develop sense of community
- Pragmatic “change in order to conserve”
- Hierarchical society
- Human imperfection and flaw
- Private ownership - individuals become better members of society
What does liberalism value
Liberty and freedom.
Limited government power
What is classic liberalism
Protection of the freedom of the individual by limiting power of govt and state so that the individual is free to pursue their economic interests.
Progressive liberalism
Argued that for all people to be truly ‘free’ then the state would need to intervene economically as poor people have no choice and cannot be truly free.
What did social liberals believe
Favoured economic policies that reduced inequality
- less authoritarian than labour
Who are the orange bookers?
Group of liberal democrats who formed a more classical liberal approach with the belief in a free market, competition, smaller state and low taxes
Elements of new labour in Miliband’s labour
- Supports governments freeze on public sector pay.
- Opposes abolition of education maintenance allowance.
- Supports the ‘blue labour’ answer to ‘big society’
Elements of old labour in Miliband’s labour
- Opposes predator capitalism
- Opposes cut in top rate of income tax to 45%
- Supports a ‘living wage’ not just a minimum wage
- 2013 proposal of govt mandated freeze
- Opposes NHS reorganisation
- Won leadership due to trade union support
- 2013 proposal to seize land from undeveloped housing developments.
- Seeks “predistribution of wealth”
In what ways are labour shifting to the left?
- freezer fuel bills for 2 years
- building of 200,000 new homes
- intervention in businesses
- increased regulation
How have the Lib Dems shifted to the left?
Free school meals
- plans for mansion tax
- no tax for minimum wage jobs
- redistributive tax policies
- universalism
How have the conservatives shifted to the right?
- Thatcherite policy of under 25s “earning or learning” scheme which withdraws benefits for unemployed under 25 years.
==> slight authoritarianism.
What is consensus politics?
Broad agreement by main parties on major policy areas.
–> differences only on minor issues and specific details.
Examples of consensus politics
- Post war consensus of Keynesianism, welfare stare and nationalisation of commanding heights.
- Thatcherite consensus
- main parties accepted her actions
What is adversary politics?
Fundamental disagreement between main parties
- big ideological gap
- 1979 thatchers rise to power led to labour shifting to the left
In what ways is Cameron’s conservatism similar to thatcherism?
- reduction in tip rate of income tax from 50% to 45%
- 2011 riots => David Cameron showed signs of authoritarianism.
- no economic plan B, austerity measures continue despite missing deficit reduction
- earning or learning scheme
- tax breaks for married couples
In what ways is Cameron’s conservatism similar to One Nation?
- ‘Big society’
- Protection of NHS from govt austerity
- Healing broken society through compassionate conservatism
- ‘There is such a thing as society’
- ‘Nudge theory’ - govt encouragement of people to make better choices (paternalism)
Arguments in favour of a 2 party system.
- Political stability
- Stronger govt with a clear majority
- Clear electoral choice
- Easier to hold government to account
Arguments against a 2 party system
- Un democratic
- Limited electoral choice
- Encourages ‘the least worst option’ voting
- Tyranny of the majority
- Difficulty in establishing new parties
How many types of elections do we have in the UK?
- General elections
- Devolved elections
- European Parliamentary elections
- Local elections
What are the 3 functions of elections
- To form governments
- Ensure representation
- Uphold legitimacy
Problems with the functions of elections
- Forming govt - inadequacy if forming majority govts. Labour bias (due to electoral system)
- Ensuring representation - turnout is lower than it was historically. MPs elected with minority of constituency votes
- Upholding legitimacy - UK govts are always formed with less than half of the vote
What is the concept of ‘trusteeship’?
- ‘Burkean representation’.
- Politicians are not delegates
- They act on behalf of others with their superior knowledge and expertise
- Ordinary people don’t know what is in their best interests
Example: California tax cuts and increased spending
Criticisms of the concept of ‘trusteeship
Based on a flawed view of human nature
- danger of elitism
What is the concept of the ‘doctrine of the mandate’?
- most influential theory of representation.
When a party wins it has a mandate to govern and implement the policies it promised in its manifesto.
• It is the PARTY and not the politician that fulfils the representative function.
Justifies party unity and discipline. Politicians can serve their constituents by remaining loyal to the party leadership.
- ‘Mandate democracy’ where party labels and policies are all important not just the individuals.
Is there any evidence to suggest that the UK follows a ‘doctrine of the mandate’ form of representation
UK voters do indeed vote for parties and not for individual candidates
What is the concept of ‘descriptive representation’?
Representatives should resemble the group they represent.
- the govt and parliament should be a microcosm of society.
Evidence suggests this is not true.
Party system
Relationship between parties and the structure of how they form a government. Refers to the relevant number of parties, often defined by electoral system
