The moment, indeed, that we distinctly conceive that the House of Commons is mainly and above all things an elective assembly, we at once perceive that party is of its essence.
Walter Bagehot: “The moment, indeed, that we distinctly conceive that the House of Commons is mainly and above all things an elective…”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot argues that recognizing the House of Commons as an elective assembly reveals the intrinsic nature of party politics.
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The lessons are good where its primitive assumptions hold, but may be false where those assumptions fail.
I cannot, therefore, join in the full cry against anomalies; in my judgment it may quickly overrun the scent, and so miss what we should be glad to find.
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The casual line was traced according to the strength of deceased combatants; succeeding generations fought elsewhere; and the hesitating line of a half-drawn battle was left to stand for a perpetual limit.





