LESSON LightofRestorationPeace,WorldCulture,Heavenly 8 POLITICAL PARTY LESSON OBJECTIVES 1 Understand the meaning of political party. 2 Understand the role of political parties. 3 Examine how political party systems are classified and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each party system. TERMS TO KNOW • Political party • One-party system • Two-party system • Multi-party system
2 8. Political Party What is a Political Party? A political party is an organization that is organized by like-minded people to come to power and achieve political goals. The establishment and participation of political parties is guaranteed in the constitution as one of the rights of the people in most countries. Political parties are even more important in representative democracies. This is because political parties play a Figure 8-1 Several parties participating in the European Parliament
The Role of Political Parties Political parties act as a bridge between the people and the government. This is because political parties listen to the opinions of the people and deliver them to the government and strive to realize the policies that the people want and need. In this way, political parties play the role of representing the political needs of the people. Political parties also recommend candidates for various elections. This is because when a president, prime minister, or parliamentarian is elected from their own party, the likelihood of implementing the policy increases. In addition, political parties form public opinion or provide political education through lectures and rallies to get many people interested in politics. Classification of Party Systems Party systems are generally classified into single-party and
8. Political Party 3 role in listening to the opinions of the people, considering policies on behalf of the people, and making efforts to reflect them in politics. People can participate in politics through political parties and indirectly express their political opinions.
Political Party multi-party systems according to the number of parties in a country. The one-party system is a system in which only one party is active in a country, and the multi-party system is a system in which two or more political parties are active.
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The one-party system has the advantage of being able to consistently pursue policies since only one party is in power. However, in the one-party system, it is difficult to reflect the diverse opinions of the people, and there is a risk of falling into a one-party dictatorship. The multi-party system can be further divided into two-party and multi-party systems. A twoparty system is a case in which there are two leading political parties in a country. A two partysystem does not necessarily mean that there are only two parties, it means that two parties mainly take power. The advantage of the two party-system is that it is easy for the public to compare and choose the policies of the parties. However, the two-party system also has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to reflect the diverse Figure 8-2 The United States is a typical two-party system. The elephant symbolizes the Republican Party, and the donkey symbolizes the Democrat Party
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opinions of the people. A multiparty system is a case in which there are three or more political parties that are active in a country. The advantage of the multi-party system is that the opinions of a minority can be accepted more widely than the two-party system. However, compared to the twoparty system, the policy decision and implementation process is complicated and slow.
6 8. Political Party Reviewing the Lesson 1 What is the meaning of political party? 2 What is the role of political parties? 3 How can party systems be classified? 4 What are the strengths and weaknesses of each party system? Activities 1 Let’s investigate and present what political parties are in my country and what policies and promises they have. 2 Suppose that the school makes one classroom a space that the students want. At this time, after thinking about how you would like to use the classroom, form a group with like minded people. Elect a representative from each group and present the reasons why and how you would like to use the space.
Lesson8. Political Party 5th floor 20, Nambusunhwan-ro 347-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South-Korea Tel. +82 02-514-1963 Fax. +82 Thehwpl@hwpl.krhttp://www.hwpl.kr02-514-1961firsteditionon31 July 2022 Published by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light Copyright 2022 Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light All rights reserved. You must get consent from a copyright owner to use all or parts of the contents of this book. Image Credits Figure 8-1 Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/European_Parliament_Strasbourg_ Hemicycle_-_Diliff.jpg Figure 8-2 https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/09/29/10/48/elephant-2798628_960_720.jpg
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