POLITICAL

IDEOLOGIES
Lesson 2
Philippine Politics and Governance
As you go on, please be guided by this
Lesson Outline

1 2 3 4 5
Identify the basic Differentiate the Examine the Critique ideas that Analyze how political
tenets of major political ideologies relationship between have a direct impact on ideologies impact on
political ideologies (i.e. political ideologies and how we try to manage the social and political
liberalism, socialism, configurations of ourselves as a political life of Filipino
conservatism, etc.) political communities community
Governments are
established guided by
certain principles. These
principles are gathered
together to form ideologies.
There are five ideologies
that we are going to discuss
in this lesson
 1. ANARCHISM
Anarchy is a political ideology which
treats any fixed system of government
as repressing. In this political
ideology, the government is
unnecessary and is the cause of harm
because it controls people. Ownership
of production should be common to
everyone, with both economic and
political freedom as its goals.
Key Concepts:
Freedom from Governing
Authority- any form of state or
government is rejected
 2.
ABSOLUTISM
 Absolutism is an ideology
that centralizes control to one
individual, may it be by
heredity or by divine right.
This may lead to societies
treating their leaders as
leader of both governmental
and religious affairs.
 Key Concepts:

1. Adherence to Order- societies are

carefully designed to establish a
stable structure.
2. Compelling Natural/Divine Law-
Law is supreme, and natural or divine
right states that there are certain
people which are meant to rule
3. Obsession to Tradition- New ideas
are considered dangerous to the order
of things
 3. LIBERALISM

The ideology that focuses on

equality and liberty. Liberalism
advocates that every individual
should enjoy freedom.
Government and States are
created to ensure that people can
enjoy their rights. In such
ideology, everybody is provided
with basic rights- no person is
born with more rights than others.
 Key Concepts:
Individualism- focuses on the importance of
the ‘self’ over society
Liberty- Every individual has the right to do
anything it wants to, as long as it is not illegal
Rationalism- the idea that humans are
capable of thinking rationally and reasonably
 Openness to Novelty- New
ideas are accepted and
treated as stepping stones
towards progress
 Free Market- a byproduct of
individualism. Individuals may
own property, control means of
production, and set a market
value for their goods
4.
CONSERVATISM
As a reaction to the liberalism,
conservatism seeks to avoid the former's
unstable tendencies. It holds that certain
traditions must be kept to maintain social
stability. Human reason is insufficient in
trying to solve the problems of
governance. In this sense, we must
concede to the traditional methods of
governance, which is a collection of
wisdom for many years past.
Key Concepts:
 Return to Tradition-
Stability is an important
concept of a government
thus emphasizing the need
for traditional methods of
having a hierarchy of power
 Human fallibility- human
beings are not perfect.
Human rationality is limited
and therefore, prone to
mistakes
 Unique Circumstances-
Specific- concepts societal problems do not
such as freedom are come with universal
too general to be solutions. Different
applied to a functional cultures will react
society differently to different
problems
 5. SOCIALISM

Unlike other ideologies, socialism

emphasizes social consciousness.
Socialism emphasizes that society should
collectively own means of production;
private ownership is discouraged. In such
cases, only the public owns a property,
there is no free market as prices will be
set by the authority. Economic equality is
strictly observed thus, there will be no rich
nor poor. The state provides everyone
their necessities.
 Collectivism- as opposed to individualism,
collectivism emphasizes collective good or ‘the
good of everyone’ over the self

Public Ownership- everyone owns the means of

production, no private individual may own or
Key dispose of property

Concepts: Centralized Economy- The government (public)

plans the economy, thus there is no free trade

Economic Equality- all citizens enjoy the same

level of prosperity
 Activity 1. Read and identify
the ideology that best
describes the descriptions

1. In Camelot, the King is the

highest authority. He decides
for the ordinance, tax, religion,
and controls the might of the
military. Ever since there was
no citizen who ever dared
question the throne's right to
rule.
2. For years, Somalia has been
divided into many smaller feudal
territories led by warlords. In
such a scenario, there is no
public spending, piracy is
prevalent, there is the absence of
their own currency, and no courts
may intervene in any legal
dispute.
3. In our country, profit
generated by public markets are
used to repair or improve them;
funds are used for wages of
employees or saved for public
use. Profit in this sense is not for
personal or private gain, but for
the welfare of the general public.
4. The center of progress is
freedom. Every individual is
capable of rationalization, which
makes them active participants
in thinking for solutions to
recurring problems. Thus,
individuals are given specific
freedoms as a testament to
their individuality.
5. Although freedom is a
fundamental human experience,
good governance demands that
control should also be
considered. Freedom is not an
antagonist to control, but
specific methods must be
employed to maintain control.
The wisdom of many is too
diverse and primitive to
accommodate.
Application
Using what you have learned from our lesson, describe the keywords presented in
your own words. Write the first thing that comes to your mind when reading the
keywords presented below.

Socialism Anarchism
 ____________  ____________
 ____________  ____________

Absolutism Liberalism
 ____________  ____________
 ____________  ____________
Conservatism
__________
__________