Political Parties

Tudor Polity

Louis Hartz has described the U.S. as having a "Tudor polity", (ie., parties that reflect 16th century English politics better than they address contemporary American social and economic concerns).

The concept of a "Tudor polity" relates to the notion of the emergence of rudimentary capitalism and liberalism in England and how major American political ideas were shaped by such English thinkers as John Locke.

The notions of private property, limited and divided government, rights and, above all, the concept of self-interest, are at the heart of any "Tudor polity".

This concept emphasizes the concept of political culture. Remember that culture is defined as “the set of attitudes, beliefs and sentiments which give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in a political system.  It encompasses both the political ideals and operating norms of a polity.  Political culture is thus the manifestation in aggregate form of the psychological and subjective dimensions of politics.  A political culture is the product of both the collective history of a political system and the life histories of the members of the system and thus it is rooted equally in public events and private experience”.

Since the theoretical approach to politics known as “pluralism” also emphasizes the concept of self-interest (and most argue that empirically America operates from a pluralist perspective), it is thus generally considered appropriate to view America as having a “tudor polity”.