Most ordinary people are not very interested in political institutions and processes. What interests them about politics is what governments do to them and for them: How much tax do they pay? What sorts of public services do they get? How well does the government handle financial crises? Do their children get a good education? Is the nation well protected against its enemies?

Part IV of the book is about the policies and performance of governments. A ‘policy’ is a general set of ideas formulated into a plan that has been officially agreed, and which is used as a basis for making decisions. Although ideas and plans are important, what most people care about is performance. By ‘performance’ we mean the actual results that governments get – is inflation low and economic growth good? Is crime under control? Are schools well staffed and equipped? Is hospital care effective? Plans are no good if they do not achieve their goals, and performance is no good if it is based on muddled or dangerous plans in the first place. Citizens want good plans and good performance together, but they care most about performance.

Part IV of the book has chapters on both the policies and performance of democratic states. Since plans and policies are what parties and governments start with, chapter 14 examines the ‘isms’ of politics – competing ideas about what governments should do, and how they should do it.