FINANCING POLITICAL PARTIES

In this and the next issue we print some articles on alternative ways of funding political parties. He who pays the piper may not always get quite the tune he expects, but it is certainly in the public interest to consides that public funding of parties is possible, as well as controls of types of contribution and enforced publicity. We begin the symposium by reprinting from The Times of April 11, 1973, a characteristically provocative piece by the late Richard Crossman from his all too short-lived "Personal View Column". We thank The Times for permission to reptint, and pay tribute to the memory of Crossman who was a member of the Board of THE POLITICAL QUARTERLY from 1939 to 1960.     

PARTICIPATORY MANAGEMENT Toward a Science of Correctional Management

Participatory management as an intervention technique to effect change in the prison environment requires a restructuring of the prison Incision-making process. Inmates must be given increased responsibility and be aUowed to participate meaningfully in decision-making. The inmate subculture is posited as being one of the major impediments to successful interventions within the prison setting; participatory management neutralizes its effects, replacing the traditional oppositional character of staff/ inmate relationships with a coalition of staff and inmates.     

A Matter of Taste：Cultivating the Vineyards of the Future

The chateaux vineyards of France may have something to worry about; an ambitious and venerable Chinese winery is determined to make its mark on the international wine market A look at China＇s vineyards; a look at the future of wine.     

Kosher Made in China？--China takes on the specialty food market

THERE is an old joke that hints at the understanding two cultures joined through food have for each other： ＂If, accordingto the Jewish calendar, the year is 5770, and, according to the Chinese calendar, the year is 4707, what did the Jews eat on Sundays for those first 1,063 years？＂     

Lessons Learned

Amonth before the PRC 60th anniversary celebrations in Beijing, I traveled back to the US as part of a group fromthe Chinese media to meet with former American president George H.W. Bush, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Sino-U.S. diplomatic ties. The interview he granted us was for Chinese television and part of a larger series featuring various individuals recounting developments in New China that took place on their watch. Mr. Bush and the PRC have done more than just cross paths over the last 60 years. His particular story began back in the early 1970s when then President Nixon took notice of a young congressman from the State of Texas.     

ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND THE LIMITS OF LAW

This article examines the relationship between persistent demands for "access to justice" and the relatively low yield of court-oriented social reform strategies. Access to justice has a symbolic attraction which is impossible to deny. Access may not insure justice or social reform, but it is an important political resource from which strategic bargaining advantages may flow. But the importance of the right to participate may be inversely related to its utilization. Beyond a certain level, expanded access may be costly. Its deterrent qualities may be diminished, and the legal system, when overloaded, may be unable to insure delivery of justice.     

SUPPORT FOR THE SUPREME COURT AS A NATIONAL POLICYMAKER

The most frequent explanations for the endurance of the Supreme Court's policies and of its power as a national policymaker assume public reverence for the Court, widespread support for it as an institution, or broad-based agreement with its policies. Public opinion studies refute most of these assumptions. Our research confirms those studies and shows, in addition, that the Court cannot claim strong support among occasional political activists. It does, however, have a strong constituency among liberal activists and liberal position-holders. We hypothesize, therefore, that the Court's endurance as a national policymaker is explained by special support from one wing of the dominant party coalition that, because of its strategic location in the complex national policy process, is able to obstruct broadly-based attacks on the Court's authority and policy. Such attacks gain force, however, when critical elections alter the dominant party coalition and therefore weaken the hold of the Court's ideological allies. Yet even then—or at least so far—the Court and its policies have prevailed against various court curbing efforts.