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Comparative Politics and Government

Notes 3. State activity in the economic sphere should be limited. There should be no attempt in the
direction of nationalisation of private industries until it is warranted by the exigencies of the
situation.
4. National institutions should be protected and honoured. As such, due respect should be given
to the honour and greatness of the monarchy and the House of Lords.
5. British imperial interests should be safeguarded. Britain should play an effective role in the
European Union for maintaining her political and economic power and prestige.
Labour Party: The Labour Party is a more socially representative organisation. It draws strength
mainly from the middle class intelligentsia and manual workers. Its members are of four main
categories: ‘professions’ (like university and college teachers), ‘minor professions’ (like journalists,
organisers, public lecturers, insurance salesmen), small businessmen (like shopkeepers, accountants
and executives) and ‘working class occupations’ (like labourers, artisans, clerks, etc.). In the main,
the composition of the party is dominated by the ‘professions’ and ‘workers’. The members of this
party are of two types – individual (belonging to a constituency branch) and indirect (belonging to an
affiliated trade union or Socialist Society). Individual members are required to pass an eligibility test
of not being a member of any other party or ancillary organisation. No such test is required for
affiliated members, and some of these can not even be classed as party sympathisers. Officers at local
and national level must be individual members of the party.
The Labour Party is committed to the doctrine of democratic socialism. Different from the socialist
parties of the European countries, it has a socialism of its own based on the doctrine of Fabianism.
The writings of such thinkers as Morris, Shaw, Cole and Tawney have helped furnish a native socialist
tradition more influential than imported continental ideas. On the other hand, such writers reflect
the mood and the spirit of British socialism; they rarely mould it. The party’s policies and aspirations
seem to be determined far more by prevalent political circumstances than by the pre-conceived
philosophies. For this reason, the socialism of the Labour Party is fundamentally at variance with
that of Marx. Its commitment to the principle of “common ownership of the means of production,
distribution and exchange” did become a hot gospel for stalwarts, but party policy was never
subsequently moulded in such a way that wholesale nationalisation could be a real possibility. “The
Labour Party’s brand of socialism has been tempered by the exercise of power. The chief aim has
become the establishment of a Labour government rather than the bringing about of socialism.”
The broad principles on which the Labour Party stands may be described as follows:”
1. Man is inherently good and that institutions and societies are mostly to blame for making him
behave badly and live miserably. Democracy, therefore, should be extended from the sphere of
politics to that of economics and society.
2. It follows that scramble for private profit should be substituted by co-operative fellowship.
Private firms and economic enterprises should be brought under social ownership and control.
Key industries should be nationalised, the rest democratised.
3. It stands for the establishment of a welfare state so that private economy is placed under the
regulation of social control. Social welfare services are performed by the State.
4. It desires that national institutions conform to the establishment of genuine democracy. As
such, the privileges of the Lords should go.
5. There should be collective co-operation among the nations of the world. The United Nations
should be strengthened so that there is peace in the world. Dependent peoples of the world
should have freedom.
Political Parties in Russia

One important point that makes the Russian Federation fundamentally different from the Soviet
Union is the prevalence of multi-party system and the rise of a number of interest groups some of
which are also known as social and protest movements. Gone are the days when the communist
Party was the state and only such groups could play their part in the political process of the country
which had the patronage of the ruling party. Some of the parties are so small that they look like

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