ABSTRACT

It is a curious fact that in Great Britain, where anything that could be called a party system first began, political parties are still unrecognised by the law. So marked has this been that some people have even suggested that authors ought not, properly speaking, to talk of a party system at all earlier than about a hundred years ago, or even, as has been claimed, before the beginning of the present century. But it is time now to consider some of the undeniable advantages of the party system from the point of view of democracy. Connected with this is the fact that party system secures constant discussion and argument. No doubt it is considerably exaggerated, but there is certainly a tendency for the party system to produce this sort of attitude. The party system is a way of stimulating these discussions and ensuring that they receive attention, and it is difficult to see what better way could be found.