Political Ideologies PDF

 Do the following: ◦ Create a state, give it a name, draw a national flag with its motto on it. ◦ Compose a national pledge (5 lines) and an anthem at least 10 lines long. ◦ Allocate resources to the following areas: health, housing and education. You must determine...

 Do the following: ◦ Create a state, give it a name, draw a national flag with its motto on it. ◦ Compose a national pledge (5 lines) and an anthem at least 10 lines long. ◦ Allocate resources to the following areas: health, housing and education. You must determine if these sectors will be subsidised, free or private.  Kamesha Hoyte Caribbean Politics and Society  The word ideology was coined first during the French Revolution by Antoine Destutt de Tracy. For de Tracy ideologie referred to a new science of ideas literally ‘idea-ology’.  The term ideology has many different meanings: ◦ “A political belief system.” ◦ “The world view of a particular social group or social class.” ◦ Ideas that propagate false consciousness amongst the exploited or oppressed.  Heywood 2002: “ An ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides the basis for organised political action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power.”  Offer an account of the existing order- WHAT IS.  Advances a model for the desired future- WHAT SHOULD BE.  Explains how political change can and should be brought about- WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. How to get from a-b.  Helps us to explain and understand the world better.  Shapes the political system.  It maintains or it can uproot the prevailing system.  Acts as ‘social cement’ within society by unifying the values and beliefs in it.  Slogans  Political Rhetoric  Party Manifestos  Government policies  Ideologies may either be RIGHT, LEFT OR CENTRE. ◦ Right wing - Less involvement of the government in planning the economy. ◦ Left Wing-Greater involvement of the government in the economy. ◦ Centre- Seek to accommodate and compromise between the two extremes.  Democracy  Liberalism – Liberal Democracy  Capitalism  Marxism  Socialism  Communism  Fascism  Demos- people  Kratos- power/ rule ◦ “ A society based on equal opportunity and individual merit, rather than hierarchy and privilege”  Elected officials control the state and make key decisions  These officials are ACCOUNTABLE the people.  The legal right of groups of people to form political parties and contest elections.  Freedom of citizens  A constitution which is protected by an independent , non-discriminatory judiciary  The rule of law  The existence of alternative sources of information  The subordination of the military to elected civilian officials.  Heywood 2002: “A form of democratic rule that balances the principle of limited government against the ideal of popular consent. Its liberal features are reflected in a network of internal and external checks on government that are designed to guarantee citizens liberty and afford citizens protection against the state. Its democratic character is based on a system of regular and competitive elections, conducted on the basis of universal suffrage and political equality.”  Constitutional government  Guaranteed civil and individual rights  Checks and balances in the system ( fragmentation of government)  Regular elections (1 person, 1 vote)  Party competition and political pluralism  The presence of pressure/interest groups  Private enterprise economy  A system of generalised commodity production in which wealth is owned privately and economic life is organised according to market principles ( forces of demand and supply).  Laissez- faire- leave to do. ◦ The idea of the non- intervention of government in economic affairs. It believes the economy works best when left alone by the government  Private ownership of property  No legal limit on the accumulation of property.  The free market  Competition  Profit motive and self interest is believed to provide motivation for enterprise and hardwork.  The existence of classes (bourgeois, proletariat)  Equality of opportunity- every one has the same starting point or equal life chances.  Individualism  Economic life driven by market principles (demand and supply)  Marx believed that ideology was used as delusion and mystification to create a false consciousness.  Marx saw ideology as a manifestation of POWER hiding the contradictions that existed between the two classes.  Marx was critical of the capitalist system.  Alienation – workers alienated from the product of their labour  Class struggle  Surplus value- people are paid less than the true value of their labour  Communism  Proletariat revolution  Historical materialism  The goal of a socialist society is to abolish a capitalist society based on market exchange and replace it with one based on common ownership.  Collectivism- community “no man is an island, every man is a piece of the continent…”  Social Equality- equality of outcome i.e equal distribution of income, wealth and other social goods.  Eradication of classes- removal of inequality  Common ownership/ public ownership  State regulation of the market and central sectors  Production is based on use- satisfaction of human needs  Cooperation- i.e fraternity and brotherhood.  For Marx communism meant “ a classless society in which wealth is owned in common, production is geared to human need, and the state had withered away”, allowing for spontaneous harmony and self- realisation.  Economic life is based on state collectivisation and is organised through central planning  A classless society  All people are equal  Everything is in abundance