MODULE 2

LESSON 2: POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES
 Differentiate the political ideologies

POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

Antoine Destrutt de Tracy

Coined the term Ideology as the “science of

ideas”.
Ideology becomes a political weapon to
condemn or criticize opposing arrays of ideas or
belief system.
Beliefs are people’s assessment of reality
Values are people’s ideas of right and wrong.

What is Ideology?
 Ideology is ‘an interrelated set of ideas that in some way guides or inspires political
action’ (Heywood, 2002)

 ‘An ideology is a reasonably coherent structure of thought shared by a group of people.

It is a means of explaining how society works and explaining how it ought to work.’
(Dobson, 1992)

 Some uses of the term see ideology as something negative, implying a distorted view of
reality. Example capitalist ideology, patriarchal ideology

Political Ideology is:

 A political belief system

Political Ideology has three Functions

1. It offers an analysis of the status qou by examining what works anf what does not work,
as well as other various issues and problems that the state and the broader society are
confronted with.

2. It evaluates alternative to the status qou and prescribes a preffered or desire social
order.

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 3. It specifies the means by which the preffered or desired social ordercan be achieved.

TYPES OF POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

1. LIBERALISM - Derived from the word “libere” which means “freemen”

Key Ideas:
 Individual freedom
 Equality of opportunity
 Government by consent
 State’s role is to safeguard freedom of

Beliefs:
a) Need for change in social relations and
requiring governmental involvement.
b) Society must be free from government
interventions.
c) Promotes individual welfare and supporting
civil rights and accept peaceful political Liberalism has influenced a variety of movements
change. concerned with equal rights for all citizens.

TYPES OF LIBERALISM
• Classical liberalism
• Progressive liberalism
• Neo-liberalism

Set of Values and beliefs of Liberalism

1. Individualism - Supreme importance of individual over any social group

2. Freedom
3. Reason – power of reason gives human being the capacity to take charge of their own
lives.
4. Justice – moral standard of fairness and impartiality
5. Toleration – willingness to accept views or action with which one is in disagreement.

2. CONSERVATISM (THE RIGHT)

 Derived from the term conservation

 Seeks to preserve all that is good about the

past

 Gives greater attention to social entities

than to individuals having the inclination to
oppose any change in political environment.

Key Ideas:
 Importance of tradition
The State Opening of Parliament.
 Gradual social change
Conservatives believe in hierarchy, order and tradition

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  Human beings are imperfect and flawed
 State’s role is to maintain order

TYPES OF CONSERVATISM

 Traditional conservatism
 One-nation conservatism
 Liberal conservatism

Margaret Thatcher (PM 1979-90) Benjamin Disraeli (19th C Prime Minster)

was influenced by liberal is regarded as the founder
of one-nation conservatism
SOCIALISM
• An economic and political doctrine advocating government
ownership.
• Adheres to social equality to attain social stability.
• An instrument of labor movement

Key Ideas:
• Collectivism

• Equality The Labour government of 1945-50

nationalized key industries including coal,
• Opposed to capitalism gas, electricity, water and railways.

• Human beings are capable of self-fulfillment if given

the opportunity by society

TYPES OF SOCIALISM

• Revolutionary socialism

• Democratic socialism

• Social democracy

Socialism applies to a wide range of political ideas ranging from Communism

which inspired the Russian Revolution to Tony Blair’s Third Way

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 YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBYmeLBWjeI
What Is Socialism?
By: NowThis World

LEFT AND RIGHT IN POLITICS

The term “left” an “right” trace their origins to the French Revolution and the seating
arrangements adopted by the different groups at the first meeting of the Estate – General in
1789. Supporters of the King sat to his right, while radicals, members of the Third Estate, sat to
his left.subsequent French Assemblies followed a similar seatting pattern and since then,
ideological opinions and positions have been calasiffied most often in terms of a single left –
right dimension. The term “left” became a label for revolutionary oregalitarian sympathesis and
the term “right” for reactionary or monarchist (Heywood 2003).

3. SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
• balance between market and state.
• It stresses welfare measures but not state ownership

YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvJ8YDma7Wk

What is Social Democracy?
By: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

4. COMMUNISM
• Karl Marx

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 • Social and political system seeking government ownership of the means of
production and services.

5. FASCISM
• Benito Mussolini

• Repressive social conditions rejecting democracy

• Repudiates constitutionalism

• All values arise from the state and the individual has no right

• Totalitarian omnipotent state Benito Mussolini

An Italian politician and
• Militarism and violence journalist who founded and led
the National Fascist Party.

YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um6s_bbmfbA

The Rise and Fall of Benito Mussolini
By: Tales of History

YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUcYU95kCAI

What Is Fascism?
By: NowThis World

6. FEMINISM
• Women experienced a poor state in the society

• Focus on the position of women in the society

• Gender equality in the political, economic and social

spheres

7. ANARCHISM
• Anarchists the state and advocate for the abolition of its accompanying institutions of

government and law .

• Believing that a more natural and spontaneous social order will develop.

• The state is evil and oppressive in its own right and therefore should be overthrown.

• abolished all other forms of political authority and the conventional processes of

government and machinery of the state including electropolitics (Heywood 2003, Ch6)

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 Table 1
Different Ideologies and their Perspectives on the State
Political Perspectives on the state
Ideologies
Anarchism  Rejects the outright, believing it to be an unnecessary evil.
 The sovereign, complulsory, and coercive authority of the states is
seen as a nothing less than legalized oppression operating in the
interests of the powerful, propertied, and privileged.
 As the state is inherently evil and oppressive, all mstates have the
same essential character.
Socialism  Has constrasting views of the state
 Matrxists have stressed the link between the state and the class
system, seeing it either as an instrument of class rule or as maens
of ameliorating class tensions.
 Other socialists, however, regard the state as an embodiment pf the
common good and thus approve of intervensionism in either ist
social – democrastic or state – collectivist form.
Liberallism  Sees the state as a neutral arbit among competing interests and
groups in society, a vital guarantee of social order
 While classical liberals treat the state the as a necessary evil and
extol the virtues of minimal or nightwatchman state, modern liberals
recognize the state’s positive role in widening freedom and
promoting equal opportunities.
Conservatism  Link the state to the need to provide authority to need, to provide
authority and discipline and to protect society from chaos and
disorder, hence, their traditional preference for a strong state.
 However, whereas traditional conservative support a pragmatic
balance between the state and civil society, neolibirals have called
for the state to be “rolled back” as it threatens economic prosperity
and is driven , assentially by, bureautic self – interest.
Fascism  Particularly in the italian tradition, sees the state as a supreme
ethical ideal, reflecting the undifferentiated interests of the national
community, hence their belief in totalitarianism.
 The Nazis, however, saw the state more as a vessel that contains,
or tool that serves, the race or nation.

The Broad Political Left in the Philippines

In the philippines, liberal and consetvative political positions also found their way
into the political system, and into heart of politics. As mentioned previously, the primacy
of family loyalties and the resilience of political dynastieshave resulted in individual
conservatism in economic decission – making that puts a premium on preserving family
wealth and status.

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