ABSTRACT
Parties are nowadays deemed essential to the workings of a democratic political system. Their functions are complex; but their prime one is to organize and give coherent expression to the political demands of various groups. The latter may be a single class or fraction, or a wider grouping. Although the origins of most parties are clearly traceable to different class fractions, the nature of a party may well change over time; in particular, it may well come to attract support from other class fractions than those on which it was first based, thus qualifying for the title of a ‘catch-all’ party. Such a process is usually a long and oblique one, and in general it is safe to say that the way in which parties mirror (or deform) class interests is a complex one. At any rate, parties aim to capture political power or a share thereof, so as to translate their demands as far as possible into public policy. Much of their activity will consist, then, in mobilizing supporters; and such mobilization need not be restricted to electoral competitions, though the latter obviously occupy a privileged place in the activity of most parties. A final function of parties is to produce élites who will be able to govern. In other words parties are essential to the upkeep of what is often called the political class.
