Book Reviews : Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System. A Report of the Committee on Political Parties, American Political Science Association. (New York: Rinehart and Co., Inc. 1950. Pp. xi, 99. $1.00.)

• Author: Samuel J. Eldersveld
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295100400337
• Published date: 01 September 1951
• Date: 01 September 1951
• Subject Matter: Articles

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to be applied to the study of the administrative process generally, including
formal organizational arrangements. Attention of students of public ad-
ministration should be directed not only to the psychological factors
influencing the decision-making process, but also to the institutional
arrangements which help to maximize the possibilities of developing and
maintaining rationality and responsibility in the making of administrative
decisions. Exclusive concentration on psychological factors affecting human
behavior may obscure the valid emphasis in democratic theory on methods
for placing the responsibility for decision-making on government agencies.
As an insider’s account of the evolution of rationing regulations, this
book is a useful addition to the growing literature of wartime administra-
tive history and clinical studies of administrative situations. It is not, and
was not intended to be, a complete study of rationing administration. It is
of prime importance for those who still hold to the notions of administra-
tion criticized by the author and for those who have not recognized the
significance of human behavior factors in the study of administration.
MARVER H. BERNSTEIN.
Princeton University.
Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System. A Report of the Commit-
tee on Political Parties, American Political Science Association. (New
York: Rinehart and Co., Inc. 1950. Pp. xi, 99. $1.00.)
The thesis of this rambling discourse is that our two-party system is
made up of &dquo;two loose associations ... with very little national machinery
... and cohesion,&dquo; and the resultant irresponsibility is dangerous in an
era of grave domestic and foreign problems. In three chapters and ninety-
nine pages, the Report analyzes the need for party reform, presents pro-
posals, and meditates on the prospects for action. Its goal is a party system
that is &dquo;democratic, responsible and effective.&dquo;
Students of the American party system cannot help but be...