ABSTRACT

Presents a brilliant, persuasive case that American political parties, so often dismissed as immature or ineffective compared with their European counterparts, are in fact old and durable political organizations, serving well the needs of a pluralistic society. What chiefly distinguishes this work is the inclusion of considerable material on American parties in a comparative context to the analysis of British, Scandinavian, European, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand political parties.

chapter I|16 pages

Introduction

chapter II|27 pages

Developmental Circumstances

chapter III|31 pages

The Nature of Competition

chapter IV|21 pages

Structuring the Vote

chapter V|32 pages

Organization

chapter VI|37 pages

The Socialist Working-Class Party

chapter VII|34 pages

Leadership Recruitment by Class

chapter VIII|32 pages

Candidate Selection

chapter IX|28 pages

Counter-Organizational Tendencies

chapter X|28 pages

The Programmatic Function

chapter XI|26 pages

Program, Policy, and Organized Membership

chapter XII|36 pages

The Governing Function

chapter XIII|8 pages

Conclusion

chapter |28 pages

Postscript To Transaction Edition