Unit 3: Ideologies
In this unit, we will be looking at the ideologies of the state and its citizens. Some of these ideologies reflect more on the state, others on the people and their political parties, and others overlap the two. Some of these ideologies have only come into existence in the twentieth century, while others go back hundreds of years. Some ideologies mean one thing in the United States and something different from the rest of the world, such as for liberalism. The following subunit covers many of the traditional and best-known ideologies, however, the list is not all-inclusive.
Historically, the political spectrum was seen as one-dimensional, left and right, representing the government's position on the economic and defense issues of the day. But in the twentieth century, the New Deal and other social issues led to the creation of another dimension, confusing many who were trying to understand where they stood on both the economic/defense issues and social issues. At the end of this unit, you will be able to take a test and see where your political views fall on the multidimensional political spectrum.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 30 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- compare and contrast direct and indirect democracy, illiberal democracy, authoritarianism, and fascism;
- compare and contrast democratic socialism and democratic capitalism;
- critique the political and economic frameworks of socialism, Marxism, and communism;
- identify the key principles of classical conservatism and classical liberalism;
- illustrate the defining features of modern U.S. conservatives and modern U.S. liberals;
- explain the growth of Islamism as a political ideology;
- define feminism and describe its permutations over time;
- analyze the roots of environmentalism and the contemporary issues facing the movement; and
- situate key political ideologies on the political spectrum.
3.1: State Ideology
3.1.1: Democracy
Read this chapter through the "Other Forms of Government: Monarchy". When you finish, you should be familiar with the concepts of direct democracy, initiatives, referenda, republics, and illiberal democracies.
Watch both parts of this lecture on democracy and majority rule. Shapiro's focus in these two lectures is majority rule, democratic competition, and representation. Providing both historical and contemporary examples, Shapiro shows how majority rule lends legitimacy to collective decisions. He also explores concerns about the tyranny of the majority. True democracies require both majority rule, but also the protection of minority rights.
3.1.1.2: Democratic Socialism
As the name implies, "democratic socialism" relies on a democratic political system and a socialist economic system. Generally speaking, democratic capitalism values economic freedom more than economic equality. Proponents of democratic socialism would be more likely to highly value economic equality than would proponents of democratic capitalism. Which do you think is more important in political-economic systems, freedom or equality? Do you think freedom and equality are mutually exclusive economic goals?
In the previous article, you explored the definition of democratic socialism. This audio clip gives you the opportunity to hear how the term "democratic socialism" can be applied to contemporary politics. The speaker describes the difference between socialists and communists. Socialists, he describes, were those who wanted to work within the system, making it better, while communists were determined to have only state enterprise and economic planning. Then, there was a third group of socialists who wanted a socialism that was closely intertwined with and "married" to a real democracy. Listen closely to how the speaker describes what democratic socialism looks like in practice.