GOV 310L Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Federalist No. 10, Party System, Sixth Party System
Document Summary
Political parties: define political parties and identify the three roles of parties, examine the history of parties and why and how parties change over time, explain why the u. s. has a two-party system. James madison describes the problems of factions in federalist 10. Scholars think parties are necessary for democracy: solve collective action problems. Parties are groups that organized to win offices if you don"t win elections you are not relevant. Parties are ubiquitous in democracies with strong legislatures. Competition is fundamental competitions creates other points of view. Party in government: elected officeholders, parties organize government action. Government institutions, such as congress and the presidency are controlled by parties. Parties enable individual within government to make collective decisions more effectively. Institutional apparatus: they are on the ground to help parties organize and win elections, parties are electoral organizations. Parties provide an infrastructure that candidates may use to gather and concentrate the resources they need for election.
