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Outline of Unit
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WHAT IS IDEOLOGY?
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ISMs! We are basically going to be looking at many of the words ending in ism, such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, communism, religious fundamentalism, feminism, totalitarianism etc.
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What is ideology? First thing to be clear on is that there really is no clear and agreed upon definition of ideology. It is a difficult term to really define properly.
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political belief system An action-orientated set of political ideas The ideas of the ruling class The world view of a particular social class or social group Political ideas that embody or articulate class or social interests Ideas that propagate false consciousness amongst the exploited or oppressed
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Some attempted definitions of ideology 2 Ideas that situate the individual within a social context and generate a sense of collective belonging An officially sanctioned set of ideas used to legitimise a political system or regime An all-embracing political doctrine that claims a monopoly of truth An abstract and highly systematic set of political ideas
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Take note!
Its important to realise that ideology is not just something that is important to politics or politicians. Ideology influences all of our lives, but it works in such a way that we are often unaware of its influence!
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Core themes
LIBERALISM
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This ideology is in a sense the ideology of the industrialised West
It has a focus on a particular set of values: the individual, freedom, reason, justice, toleration
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Liberalism emphasises the importance of the individual, both the uniqueness of each individual and at the same time the equality of all individuals.
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Thus, liberalism emphasises a commitment to individual freedom. This does not mean though, that an individual is free to do whatever they like. There are still constraints on what you are actually allowed to do, one constraint being that you are not allowed to hurt another individual.
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Having faith in reason, or the ability to use ones intellect in taking action in the world, is also a central component
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look at justice in that each person should be given what they are due. Because individual rights are central, this means that liberalism believes in tolerance and pluralism, or the idea that different moral, cultural and political cultures can exist together.
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Everywhere! Have a look around, and you will see that the ideas of liberalism are central to our lives. What examples of liberalism can you find just by looking at your school?
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Core themes
CONSERVATISM
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Central beliefs of conservatism are based around the ideas of: tradition human imperfection organic society hierarchy and authority property
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Conservatism: Tradition
Conservatives
argue for the preservation of tradition, in particular with regards to values, practices and institutions They see tradition as being one of the foundations of society; without it, they believe society would crumble.
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Conservatives argue that human beings are imperfect and not perfectible, thus they will need stability and security in their lives, which the government can provide
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Conservatives believe that human beings cannot exist outside of society, or the social groups that nurture him/her, such as family, friends, colleagues, local community, and the nation
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Believe that society is hierarchical, and that authority (who is on top or in charge) develops naturally
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Conservatism: Property
Conservatives have a firm belief in the importance of owning property, and encourage private savings and investment in property; property is seen to be a way of creating a stable world. People are less likely to damage someone elses property if they also own property.
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Watch the above video to identify some stereotypical liberal and conservative traits.
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Liberalism vs. Conservatism Can you make a list of the differences between liberalism and conservatism? Why would they be opposed to one another?
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Core themes
SOCIALISM
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Core Themes
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Community
Human beings are tied to one another by the bonds of a common humanity We are all brothers and sisters
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Belief in the plasticity of human nature, or that humans can change and be moulded by life experience Firm belief that humans are not predestined, but have the capacity to become something greater than what they are
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Cooperation not competition Socialists believe that the natural relationship among humans is one of cooperation rather than competition
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Equality
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Common ownership
Disagree with the idea of private property, as they see this as one of the causes of competition and therefore social inequality. Thus, have a view that all property should be communal From each according to his ability, to each according to his need Karl Marx
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Of individual
Supports the common good Society more important than the individual The cause of inequality
Of society
Made up of Hierarchical individuals, divisions are working together natural Used for personal benefit Necessary for stability
Private property
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Core themes
FASCISM
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Origin Whilst liberalism, conservatism and socialism are ideas that have their roots in the 19th Century, fascism was born in the period between the first world wars, and emerged most dramatically in Italy and Germany.
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Italian Fascism Benito Mussolini and his Fascist Party came to power in Italy in the 1920s and lasted until the second World War, upon which he was executed by the Italian partisans and hung by his feet in a square in Milano
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German Fascism
Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party came to power in the 1930s and lasted until the Second World War, until the defeat of Germany by the Allies.
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Features of fascism
It is a difficult ideology to define, but some of its common themes include: A reaction against rationalism, or the use of reason to make sense of the world A belief that life is struggle, and that the strongest survive (influenced by Darwins idea of natural selection) Does not believe in equality; instead believes in elitism, or that some people are born leaders An extreme embrace of nationalism; incorporating a belief that certain nations are superior to others.
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Core themes
CAPITALISM
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Capitalism
Is an economic system that is focussed on profit, and the major part of production is privately owned Goods and services are created in order to generate profit
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The Market
The market is seen to be the defining mechanism in ordering society. In this sense, the market refers to the procedure of selling and buying goods in general (and anywhere), not necessarily a physical market like Preston Market! The market procedure is a way where people bring their goods to sell to consumers, and it is thought that through trade societys order is maintained. In economics talk, supply and demand are terms used to describe this process.
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Economic Growth
Belief in the idea of economic growth, so that all people increase their material wealth (best seen in the pie example below) and become better off, no matter their position in the economy. If all people are concerned with increasing their wealth, this will maintain order in society
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Core themes
TOTALITARIANISM
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Totalitarianism
Is a political system where the state (in the hands of perhaps one person or a small group/party) controls almost everything in its territory. All freedom is removed, and all subjects are under control of the authority. It is a total system of control. It establishes its rule by ideological manipulation (controlling the minds of its subjects), terror and brutality.
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Core themes
ANARCHISM
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Anarchism
The defining feature of anarchism is its opposition to the
state and the institutions of government and law Their main argument against authority is that they see authority as being an offence against the principles of freedom and equality They believe in a natural goodness of humans, and that without a state governing humans would naturally fall into a state of cooperation with one another.
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RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM
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Religious Fundamentalism Rejects the distinction between politics and religion; for fundamentalists, politics is religion (Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979)
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Religious Fundamentalism
Maintains
a commitment to ideas and values that are seen as basic or fundamental Most often turns its back on modernity, or the modern world we live in. Modernity is seen to be the root of decay in our world, where values are lacking and moral social fabric has disintegrated. Very often it is a militaristic ideology, and the use of violence to achieve its aims is common
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Core themes
NATIONALISM
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Nationalism A firm belief in the idea that the nation should be the central principle of political organisation
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ENVIRONMENTALISM
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Environmentalism
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FEMINISM
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Feminism
Important ideology that changed the focus of ideology from looking at the public to the private sphere. That is, rather than looking at the politics of the state level, they started to look at the politics of the individual. Key to this was looking at the power relationship that exists between men and women.
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Feminism Use of the concept of patriarchy to describe the power relationship between men and women Made a distinction between the idea of sex and gender: sex is a biological term defined by birth, whereas gender is a cultural term which incorporates learning how to be female or male
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GLOBALISATION
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Globalisation
This term describes the process through which economies,
societies and cultures become further integrated through a global network of political ideas through communication, transportation and trade. Whether the term is an ideology or not is debatable, but it is an idea that more and more comes to influence the way we see the world.
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You may have heard at various times terms used like political left and political right This is quite a confusing and misleading area in understanding political science The origin of the terms dates back to the French Revolution and the seating arrangements adopted by different groups in parliament.
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The Political Spectrum Traditionally, the political spectrum looked like this:
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A broad ideological disposition that is characterised by sympathy for principles such as liberty, equality, fraternity and progress. It is also associated with preference for equality and common ownership.
A broad ideological disposition that is characterised by sympathy for principles such as authority, order, hierarchy and duty
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Where do you stand on the political compass? Go to http://www.politicalcompass.org/index to take the test and find out if you are a communist, fascist, budding dictator or more of a middle man!