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realityâ). He dismissed the two theories of the division of powers (between legislature, executive and judiciary) and of âchecks and balancesâ (between the monarchical, aristocratic and democratic elements of the constitution) as âerroneousâ. What was crucial, he insisted, was to understand the difference between the âdignified partsâ of the constitution and the âefficient partsâ (admitting that they were not âseparable with microscopic accuracyâ). The former âexcite and preserve the reverence of the populationâ, the latter are âthose by which it, in fact, works and rulesâ.
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begin to rule you may bid farewell to deference for everâ, he argued â and deference was the key social prop of the system. The mass of people deferred to the pomp and splendour of the âtheatrical show of societyâ, but also the numerical majority delegated to an educated and competent minority the power of choosing its rulers. The middle classes were, in this regime, âthe despotic power in
Englandâ and could be expected to choose a good legislature which in turn would select a competent government.
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controlâ which rules the nation. âThe use of the Queen, in a dignified capacity, is incalculableâ, opened the chapters of the book dealing with the monarchy. It acted as a âdisguiseâ and strengthened the government through its combination of mystique and pageantry. He famously summed up the monarch's role as involving âthe right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warnâ.
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was âthe assembly which chooses our presidentâ. It had other roles too: to express the mind of the people; to teach the nation; to communicate grievances; to legislate. Political parties, he recognised, were âinherent in it . . . bone of its bone, and breath of its breathâ, but he saw party politics in loose and moderate and
Westminster-centric terms.
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political capacities were minimal or non-existent; they helped the state to gain authority and legitimacy, which the efficient institutions could then use. Bagehot was an unashamed elitist who believed bleakly that the âlower ordersâ and the âmiddle ordersâ were ânarrow-minded, unintelligent, incuriousâ. Throughout
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programmatic âconstituency governmentâ and outside party organisations controlling MPs and making them into âimmoderate representatives for every âismâ in all
Englandâ. He would have no truck with what he called âultra-democratic theoryâ â one person, one vote. âOnce you permit the ignorant class to
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to reform it. Bagehot counted the House of
Commons as one of the efficient institutions running the country: âthe whole life of English politics is the action and reaction between the ministry and the Parliamentâ. The Commons was âthe ruling and choosing Houseâ â its main function was âelectiveâ, it
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The House of Lords also had a dignified role. It had become a delaying and revising chamber â it was not a bulwark against revolution but must ultimately âyield to the peopleâ (i.e. the House of
Commons). âThe cure for admiring the House of Lords was to go and look at itâ, he quipped. The danger it
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The dignified parts of the constitution were complicated, imposing, old and venerable; but the efficient parts were simple and modern. The âefficient secretâ at the heart of it all was âthe close unionâ and ânearly complete fusionâ of executive and legislative powers in the
Cabinet - the âboard of
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in 1872, he was gloomy about a political future in which âboth our political parties will bid for the support of the working man . . . both of them will promise to do as he likes if he will only tell them what it isâ. âI am exceedingly afraidâ, he admitted, âof the ignorant multitude of the new
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Bagehot began his book by saying, in effect: do not be fooled by constitutional theories (the âpaper descriptionâ) and formal institutional continuities (âconnected outward samenessâ) â concentrate instead on the real centres of power and the practical working of the political system (âliving
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England had a âdouble setâ of institutions â the dignified ones âimpress the manyâ while the efficient ones âgovern the manyâ. The dignified or âtheatricalâ parts of the system played the essential role of winning and sustaining the loyalty and confidence of the mass of ordinary people whose
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Bagehot was willing to accept some limited parliamentary reform to give more weight to northern industrial areas and even permit some working-class representatives. But he was shocked and dismayed by the
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269:'s dramatic extension of the franchise in 1867, which virtually doubled the size of the electorate. In the Introduction to the second edition of
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between 15 May 1865 and 1 January 1867, and later published in book form in 1867, it explores the
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387:(Fifth ed.). London: Kegan, Paul, Trench & Co. – via Internet Archive.
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faced was not abolition but decline, and
Bagehot supported the creation of
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have studied
Bagehot's analysis. In season 1 of television series
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Project
Gutenberg version (EBook #4351, posted on 11 August 2009)
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are seen as central to the understanding of the principles of
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Congressional
Government: A Study in American Politics
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Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics
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This article is about the book. For other uses, see
399:"Where do The Economist's unusual names come from?"
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189:to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies
154:have become dated, his observations on the
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527:(New (2nd) ed.). London: H. S. King.
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150:While Walter Bagehot's references to the
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467:The Monarchy and the Constitution
135:âspecifically the functioning of
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256:He feared and opposed dogmatic
40:Title page of the first edition
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282:A column in the magazine
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29:The English Constitution
558:The English Constitution
525:The English Constitution
523:Bagehot, Walter (1872).
506:(1st ed.). London:
503:The English Constitution
384:The English Constitution
381:Bagehot, Walter (1888).
357:(1st ed.). London:
354:The English Constitution
306:The English Constitution
298:The English Constitution
271:The English Constitution
238:The English Constitution
118:The English Constitution
471:Oxford University Press
160:constitutional monarchy
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128:The Fortnightly Review
125:. First serialised in
630:Government of England
304:was also inspired by
296:in 1885, inspired by
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405:. 5 September 2013.
576:(1955) pp. 87â115.
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508:Chapman & Hall
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