Lecture 3: Political

Thought, Philosophy,
and Ideology
 Political Thought
This lecture builds on the previous one, which dealt
with concepts
All of our major approaches, concepts, and ideas in
politics are based in the development of political
thought
Thought extends from philosophy (Greek:
philosophia), meaning love of knowledge
Philosophy: study of questions about existence and
knowledge, ethics, justice, and morality based on logical
reasoning rather than empirical methods
 Politics and Philosophy
Investigations into nature, the divine, and
human action
A search for understanding
Political philosophy is about the ideas behind
politics, rather than the mechanics that drives it
 Ideology
Set or system of ideas that form the basis of a
political or economic system and provide guidance
and direction for political leadership
Just about everything in political life today
domestic and global is influenced by ideology
Ideology frames government objectives, and
government action
Ideology differs widely and is often based on
various traditions of thought
 History of Political Thought
Many strands of political thought
Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, Aboriginal, for example
Modern political science rooted in western
philosophy, stemming from Greek antiquity
 The Greeks
Early thoughts about nature of politics, the good
life, and the role of government
Simple questions (e.g., what is justice?) still not
answered today
Plato: what is right, and how should government
conduct itself?
Aristotle: politics of the possible how to best
achieve better political organization?
 Medieval Philosophy
Life and religion (Christianity)
Humans secondary, first and foremost about the
role of religion
Thomas Aquinas: introduced Aristotle to
Christian world, and the scientific approach
Aquinas used the deductive method, where you
start with a hypothesis and then move to
observations to support the hypothesis
 Renaissance Thought
Secular approach to politics
Niccol Machiavelli examined the nature of
power and leadership
Thomas Hobbes looked at the nature and power
of government to create stability
 Modern Political Thought
Much of modern political ideas build on these
eras of philosophy and take into account
enlightenment and industrial thinkers like Adam
Smith, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx
Smith: early liberal economic thinking
Mill: liberty and tolerance in society

Marx: critique of capitalism, alternative system of

communism
 The Method of Political
Philosophy
Philosophical inquiry is done by posing answers
to perennial questions.
How to distribute benefits in society?
What is the proper role for government?

Answers to these questions are wide ranging

Smith and Marx, for instance, have very different
ideas about the role of government in the economy
 Ideology
Set of related, generally consistent, ideas and
beliefs that provides a basis for political action
Both descriptive and normative:
Describe courses of action and contain a set of ideas
and beliefs
Strongly influenced by societal values
 Ideology and Religion
Ideology might be thought of in the same way as
religion
They both have preconditions and assumptions
Both have fundamental beliefs

Neither can be proved right

Both are the basis of action for people

 Where Do Ideologies Come
From?
Start with images
Reflections and impressions of reality; not reality
Those result in attitudes:
Implicit assumptions regarding images
From there we get values:
Standardized normative views of the world
And values lead to beliefs:
Certainties and faith in values
Beliefs lead to ideology
 Ideology and Philosophy
Ideology, like religion, can lead to different
opinions and conflict
While not necessarily mutually exclusive,
ideologies can be divisive
E.g., the Cold War
Ideologies are based in philosophy, though
arent philosophies themselves
 Left and Right

The terms left and right originated in the seating

arrangements of the French National Assembly
after the French Revolution of 1789 (i.e.
supporters of the old order to the right and
opponents of the absolute authority of the
monarch to the left).
In contemporary usage, the left is associated with
the pursuit of greater social an economic
equality, while those on the right generally see
inequality as a natural feature of human society.
 Liberalism

Liberalism emphasizes the desirability of

individual freedom, based on a belief in the
inherent dignity and worth of each individual.
Liberalism developed out of the struggles
against the arbitrary power of absolute rulers,
restrictions on business activity, and the lack of
religious and political freedoms.
Although liberals see a need for government,
they are concerned with the potential for those
in governing position to abuse their power.
 Classical Liberalism
Based on the ideas of John Locke, classical
liberalism viewed government as established for
limited purposes namely, the protection of
life, liberty, and property.
As well, classical liberalism is associated with a
laissez-faire economic system that is, an
economic system in which individuals and
businesses interact in the marketplace with little
government interference.
 Reform Liberalism

Reform liberalism (also referred to as welfare

liberalism) combines support for individual
freedom with a belief that government action
may be needed to help remove obstacles to
individual development.
In other words, some government action is
needed to ensure an equal right to freedom.
This action may include such measures as
unemployment insurance, old age pensions,
health care, and subsidized education.
 Conservatism

Conservatism, particularly in its traditional

form, emphasizes the values of order and
stability in the community.
Conservative thinkers view humans as
inherently imperfect, with a great potential for
evil and a limited capacity for reason.
As a result, conservatives have argued that laws
need to be respected and vigorously enforced
by government.
 The New Right

An contemporary version of conservatism,

termed the New Right, developed in the 1970s
combining free market economics, limited
government, and traditional cultural and moral
values.
Although this combination of ideas was not
new, the vigorous promotion and application of
this perspective helped to make it the leading
version of contemporary conservatism in many
countries (e.g. Britain under Margaret
Thatcher).
 Socialism

Socialism, like reform liberalism, developed as

an important political ideology in reaction to
the harshness of the early capitalist system.
Socialists view human beings as basically social
in nature and consider that capitalism
undermines the cooperative and community-
oriented nature of humanity.
Within the socialist ideology, there are a variety
of views as to what an ideal society would be
like and how such a society could be achieved.
 Marxism
The ideas of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and
Frederick Engels (1820-1895), often termed
Marxism, have been important in providing a
critique of the capitalist system of production.
In their view, the profits obtained by the
owners of capital (the bourgeoisie) were based
on the exploitation of the workers (the
proletariat).
Conflict between the two classes would
intensify leading to a revolution after which the
workers would control the state.
 Communism
After the revolution, Marx and Engels argued,
the economic system based on private
ownership would disappear.
In its place, a system of collective and
communal ownership would emerge
understood as communism, where everyone
was free to take from society what they needed.
Communism, as developed in former the Soviet
Union and China is no longer a powerful
political force.
 Democratic Socialism
Unlike communism, democratic socialism is
based on the belief that only democratic
methods should be used to work toward a
socialist society.
Rather than complete ownership of the means
of production, democratic socialists have
favoured the public ownership of some key
industries.
Today, views on democratic socialism include
the belief that capitalism can be reformed to
ensure that it works for the common good.
 Anarchism and Fascism
Anarchy is an ideology that views the state as the
key source of oppression and seeks to replace the
state with a cooperative or communal society.
Fascism is an ideology that combines an aggressive
form of nationalism with a strong belief in the
naturalness of inequality and opposition to both
liberal democracy and communism.
Fascism is often associated with the dictatorial
regimes of Italys Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)
and Nazi Germanys Adolf Hitler (1889-1945).