Men generally divided into four types of parties. First, there are men who move with the times and desire to bring about changes by gradual reform in the existing institutions. They are called Liberals, There are others who will continue with the old order and want to maintain status quo.
They are called Conservatives. There are still others who will like to replace the present institutions by those which existed in the past. Past is a golden age to them and them advocate return to the methods, customs and institutions of the ancients. Such a class of people is called Reactionaries.
Lastly, are the Radicals? They would not go slow, but advocate revolutionary changes even if such changes could be brought about by a revolution. They have no faith in the existing institutions, and will abolish or uproot them altogether and establish new ones in conformity to their ideals.
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But this is really a simple analysis of the party division. A party is a synthesis of various interests. It is as much the result of mental traits of men as they are of the interests near to their heart, of the conditions and surroundings in which they live and of the social structure of which they are the members.
Bryce beautifully sums up when he says that “though the professed reason for the existence of a party is the position of a particular set of doctrines, it has a concrete side as well as a set of abstract doctrines.
It is abstract in so far as it represents the adhesion of many minds to the same opinions. It is concrete as consisting of a number of men who act together in respect of their holding or professing to hold such opinions.”