ABSTRACT
A programmatic party, or what is more commonly called an ideological party, is undoubtedly associated with mass-membership organization. To fulfill the function, a party must have an apparatus capable of generating policies or at least of deciding what policies are consistent with the party’s basic objectives. American advocates of responsible party government, no less than European believers in a socialist party, are thinking in terms of majority support for a program. An interest group, separated from a party, is a means for influencing governmental office-holders directly and indirectly. The platforms themselves are part of the effort to mobilize majorities, as well as to provide inexpensive solace to various party supporters. The plain fact of the matter is that a cohesive party, assuming an organizational responsibility for governing in the style of a British parliamentary party, is only somewhat more of a policy-maker than a loose American party.
