Parties and Interest Groups:

1
Chapter 10

• Parties and Interest Groups
• Teams in the Game
• 24 slides

2

• Political parties have many functions
• their primary purpose is to win elections.
  Ideologies are the sets of ideas that parties
  promote to motivate people to vote for them.

3

• Learning objectives of this chapter
• outline the function of parties in a liberal
  democracy
• describe the origins of liberalism, conservatism
  and socialism in the modern age
• explain the idea of a two and a half party
  system

4
Parties and the Party System

• Political parties are intended to secure the
  power of the state, form governments to implement
  policies and programs.
• Parties take power through open, competitive
  elections
• The relationships among parties in a political
  system is called the party system.

5

• One-party dominant systems - a single party
  regularly wins almost every election, even though
  opposition parties compete freely
• Two-party systems - two parties dominate and
  others have only minor strength
• Multi-party systems - popular support is divided
  among several parties

6

• in a multi-party system, the largest party must
  generally form a coalition with one or more
  others to form a government
• The Canadian party system is competitive. The
  number of parties has changed radically over
  time.
• originally it was a classic two-party system
• with the rise of the NDP in 1961, it became a
  two and a half party system.

7

• From 1993 - 2000 five parties were electedthe
  party system was more of a multi-party system.
• also looked one-party dominant - the federal
  Liberals have been in power for much of the 20th
  century
• the oldest federal parties have both federal and
  provincial wings
• Quebec is over-represented, West under-represented

8

• In the 1980 election
• The Liberals won
• 99 of the seats in Quebec
• 55 in Ontario
• 59 in Atlantic region
• 3 from the West
• The four Western provinces were almost excluded
  from the Liberal government caucus.
• The Liberal party has become almost exclusively
  based in Central Canada. (Dr. Jon Gerrard?)

9

• The Liberal partys main opposition was from two
  regionally based parties
• the separatist Bloc Quebecois
• the Western-based Reform Party lead by Preston
  Manning
• The Conservatives were strong in the West, but
  excluded from Quebec. Devastating loss in 1993 -
  only two seats in the House of C.
• In 1997 it won 20 seats, in 2000 dropped to 12.

10

• To win an election in Canada.
• must get substantial support from two and perhaps
  three of five main regions
• the Atlantic provinces
• Quebec
• Ontario
• the Prairies
• British Columbia
• Usually requires Quebec to win
• Encourages growth of regional parties

11
Theories about the party system

• The Brokerage theory -
• Two older parties broker ideas in search of
  electoral support - selecting those ideas that
  have the widest appeal and the best likelihood of
  attracting electoral support
• brokerage as conciliation, mediation
• brokerage as an agent of national integration
• brokerage as a disguise for the interests of
  capitalism. Liberals and Conservatives are seen
  as brokerage type parties

12
One-party dominant thesis

• holds Canadian government is normally controlled
  by one partya natural governing party (the
  Liberals) and a natural opposition party (the
  PCs)
• Tories most important in 19th century and
  considered the natural governing party until
  93
• The NDP has become the innovative party because
  it never comes close to power federally but
  brings new ideas to the political game
• The Canadian Alliance Party should be called an
  innovative party.

13
Ideology Ideals that motivate parties

• ideology an explicit doctrinal structure
• a diagnosis of the ills of society
• an action plan for remedying the ills of society
• deep history roots of liberalism, conservatism,
  socialism -originated in 19th century Europe- How
  to restructure medieval social order - new tech
  dev
• socialism developed later in response to changes
  in economics
• nationalism motivates parties like the Bloc
  Quebecois.

14
Liberalism

• ideology of the rising commercial class in
  England
• liber (latin) meaning free
• to replace old feudal order, the power of the
  monarchy and landed aristocracy
• representative government, free trade, capitalism
• John Locke - political philosopher, defence of
  freedom, private property and limited government
• John Stuart Mill, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wanted to
  organize government to maintain law and order,
  but not to infringe on human rights
• said govt must operate under limitations

15
Economic implications

• Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations (1793)
  expounded the principal of laissez-faire
• minimum interference of govt in economic affairs
• prices in a free market are determined by
  natural laws like supply and demand
• Reform or modern liberalism has moved away from
  classical liberal ideasfavour redistribution to
  lift up the poor
• elements of modern liberalism in all five Cdn.
  parties.

16
Conservatism

• originally justified the positions of the
  aristocracy and church
• Edmund Burke defender of the status quo, order
  and stability (freedom of press)
• conservatives said society needed stability and
  structure
• peoples membership in the community more
  significant than their individuality
• they shared view of Smith about economics

17

• Canadian conservatism derived in part from United
  Empire Loyalists who fled the American revolution
• European conservatism ranks order and common good
  of the community above individual freedom
• American conservatism stresses individualism,
  self-reliance and a limited state
• Reformers and now the Canadian Alliance adopted
  the philosophy of American conservatives

18
Socialism

• tech advances of the Industrial Revolution
  created a huge urban working class living in
  wretched conditions - child labour, no education,
  crime, etc.
• socialists said government should get involved in
  directing the economy
• advocated public ownership
• two forms of socialism developed advocating
  alternatives in industrial capitalism - utopian
  socialists vs. Marx and scientific socialism
• development of communism and state ownership of
  all property

19

• Those who wanted to work within a framework of
  parliamentary democracy become known as
  democratic socialists
• those who liked revolutionary ideas of Marx
  become communists
• communism broke down in USSR in 1991
• even before that, in Britain socialists no longer
  pushed nationalization of industry
• socialism moral values - inequality of nations
  wealth due to capitalism, support
  equality/classless society, fight unemployment

20
Party Organization, Parties at Work

• Party Structure Financing

21
Party Organization Structure

• federal provincial wings may be largely
  independent
• federally, two wings the parliamentary wing
  (party leader and caucus) and a large
  extra-parliamentary wingNational Exec., Standing
  Committees, National Office, provincial
  associations and local constituency associations
• constituency or riding is locus of grassroots
  association
• in most parties, a small elite conducts business

22
Her Majestys Loyal Opposition

• led by the leader of the party with the second
  greatest number of seats
• role officially recognized in House procedures
• party and leader have special status
• a significant function as critic of the
  government and government in waiting
• vastly inferior to actually governing

23
Party Financing

• parties need money for research, staff, election
  campaigning
• party caucuses get money from Parliament to a
  formula which only recognizes parties with 12
  elected members
• Election Expense Act opened the fundraising
  process more accountability, contributions tax
  deductible, lists published of those who
  contribute more than 200 a yearparties
  reimbursed for most election campaign spending

24
Parties at Work

• Conventions - keep the party in touch with the
  grassroots - the parliamentary wing and
  extra-parliamentary wings combined
• leadership conventions - democratic procedure -
  the media exposes party
• candidates for leadership campaign attract
  delegate support, commitment
• leadership conventions are criticized for cost
• Liberals want a direct-vote/convention model