Political Ideologies

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Liberalism Emerged in the 17th Century, popularized in the 19th Century. Core principle: 'liberty' of the individual. Against restraints imposed by an authoritarian state. Basic Tenets of Liberalism Man is a rational creature, believes in the primacy of procedure over end-product. Promotes civil liberties, treats market society as model for social organization. State's role: necessary evil (protection of life and property). Upholds: The Individual Freedom Reason Justice Toleration and Diversity Categories of Liberalism Classical Liberalism Modern Liberalism Neo-Liberalism Classical Liberalism Advocates laissez-faire individualism or egoistic individualism. Also known as "Negative Liberalism" due to emphasis on negative freedom. Flourished in the 19th Century. Exponents of Classical Liberalism John Locke (1632-1704) Father of Liberalism Concept of Natural Rights (life, liberty, property) Works: A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), Two Treatises of Government (1689) Adam Smith (1723-90) Father of Economics Concept of Economic Liberalism Concept of the Invisible Hand Works: The Wealth of Nations (1776), The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Founder of Utilitarianism Works: An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), Anarchical Fallacies (1791), Discourse on Civil and Penal Legislation (1802) Modern Liberalism Sought to modify laissez-faire individualism, advocated for a Welfare state. Also known as 'Positive Liberalism'. Flourished in the first half of the 20th century. Exponents of Modern Liberalism John Stuart Mill (1806-73) Ideas known as 'heart of liberalism' Works: On Liberty (1859), Considerations on Representative Government (1861), The Subjection of Women (1869) T.H. Green (1836-82) Ideas described as 'Social Liberalism' Works: Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation (1895), Prolegomena to Ethics (1883) Harold J. Laski (1893-1950) Attacked notion of all-powerful sovereign state, argued for political pluralism. Developed theory of pluralistic sovereignty. Work: Grammar of Politics (1925) Neo-Liberalism Seeks to restore laissez-faire individualism. Denounces the welfare state, opposes state intervention and control of economic activities. Flourished in the second half of the 20th century. Exponents of Neo-Liberalism F.A. Hayek (1899-1992) Best known for his defence of classical liberalism. Works: The Road to Serfdom (1944), Individual and Economic Order (1948), The Constitution of Liberty (1960) Milton Friedman (1912-2006) American Economist and Nobel Laureate. Work: Capitalism and Freedom (1962) Robert Nozick (1938-2002) Best known for his rigorous defense of libertarianism. Advocated minimal state. Work: Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) Conservatism Refers to a conventional lifestyle, a refusal to change, 'to conserve'. First used in the early 19th century. Central theme: defence of tradition – values, practices, and institutions. 'Philosophy of human imperfection', rejects idea that humans can be 'good' if social circumstances are improved. Regards the family as the most basic institution of society. Property is an asset with psychological and social advantages (e.g., security). Major Exponents of Conservatism Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Father of the Anglo-American Conservative Political Tradition. Works: A Vindication of Natural Society (1756), Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) Work: Democracy in America (1954) Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990) Advocated for limited province of politics. Works: Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays (1962), On Human Conduct (1975) Irving Kristol (1920-2009) Leading exponent of American neo-conservatism, 'God-Father of Neoconservatism'. Works: Two Cheers for Capitalism (1978), Reflections of a Neo-Conservative (1983) Socialism Emerged at the beginning of the 19th Century. Human beings are social beings, natural relationship is one of cooperation. Believed in social equality or equality of outcome, upholding justice, fairness, and cooperation. Means of social production, distribution, and exchange are under social ownership and control. Evolutionary Socialism Also known as 'liberal socialism'. Relies on democratic methods, parliamentary reform, and economic planning to serve the underprivileged. Coterminous with 'democratic socialism'. Revolutionary Socialism Also known as 'Marxian Socialism'. Insists on organizing working classes to fight capitalism. Establishes complete socialization of production and distribution by revolution. Socialism: Cluster of Ideas, Values, Theories Community Cooperation Equality Social class Common ownership Major Exponents of Socialism Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) Work: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1976) Eduard Bernstein (1850-1932) Work: Evolutionary Socialism (1962) Richard Henry Tawney (1880-1962) Works: The Acquisitive Society (1921), Equality (1969), The Radical Tradition (1964) Anthony Crosland (1918–77) Works: The Future of Socialism (1956), Socialism Now (1974) Categories of Socialism Fabian Socialism Based on the Ricardian Law of Rent. Relied on the middle class to lead social change. German Social Democracy Developed by Ferdinand Lassalle. Important version of evolutionary socialism. Held that the working class should organize into a political party for legal effectiveness. Revisionism Revisionist School of evolutionary socialism led by Edward Bernstein (1850-1932). Preferred democracy over class struggle and class rule. Liberal democracy is the substance of socialism. Syndicalism Socialist movement in France (1899-1937). Sought to consider labour unions as future of socialist order. Insisted on complete independence of labour unions from political parties. Guild Socialism Appeared in England, combined socialism with ancient guild system. Upheld Marxian emphasis on class struggle. Advocated for abolition of the wage system. Propagated during 1916 to 1926. Multiculturalism Term first used in 1965 in Canada for cultural diversity. As a theory, emerged from the black consciousness movement of the 1960s in the USA. Upholds communal diversity, racial, ethnic, and language difference. Recommends policies promoting accommodation of cultural diversity. Advocates for cultural development of minorities. Associated with a collective notion of identity (ethnicity, race, language). Seeks voluntary, mutually beneficial, harmonious exchange. Implies positive endorsement of communal diversity, based on the right of different cultural groups to recognition and respect. Major Exponents of Multiculturalism Will Kymlicka Multiculturalism has sanctioned three kinds of special rights within differentiated citizenship: Cultural Rights/Polyethnic rights Self-Government Rights Special-Representation Rights Works: Liberalism, Community and Culture (1989), Multicultural Citizenship (1995) Edward Said Founding figure of postcolonial theory. Works: Orientalism (1978), Culture and Imperialism (1993) Charles Taylor Drew on communitarian thinking for 'politics of recognition'. Works: Sources of the Self (1989), The Politics of Recognition (1994) Bhikhu Parekh Held that human beings are culturally constituted; attitudes, behavior, and ways of life shaped by groups. Complexity of human nature reflected in diversity of cultures. Work: Rethinking Multiculturalism (2000) Postmodernism Emerged during the 1970s in Continental Europe. Intellectual movement rejecting absolute and universal truth, emphasizing discourse, debate, and democracy. Basis: Perceived social shift from modernity to postmodernity. Related cultural and intellectual shift from modernism to postmodernism. Major Arguments of Postmodernism No objective reality. No scientific or historical truth (objective truth). Science and technology (reason and logic) are suspect instruments of established power, not vehicles of human progress. Reason and logic are not universally valid. Human nature is socially constructed. Exponents of Postmodernism Friedrich Nietzsche Most important precursor of postmodernism. Work stresses importance of will, 'will to power', people create own world and values. Work: Beyond Good and Evil (1886) Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) Work: Being and Time (1927) Jean-Francois Lyotard Primarily responsible for popularizing 'postmodern'. Definition of Post-Modernism: 'incredulity (disbelief) towards meta-narratives.' Work: The Postmodern Condition (1979) Michel Foucault Works: Madness and Civilization (1961), The Birth of the Clinic (1963), The Order of Things (1966), Discipline and Punish (1975), The History of Sexuality (1976) Jacques Derrida Works: Writing and Difference (1967), Margins of Philosophy (1972), Spectres of Marx (1993) Richard Rorty Works: Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979), Consequences of Pragmatism (1982), Contingency, Irony and Solidarity (1989) Ecologism Term 'ecology' coined by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866. Modern ecologism emerged during the 1960s due to environmental damage. Central feature: regards nature as an interconnected whole, embracing humans, non-humans, and inanimate world. Reaction against industrialization. Held that humans should practice humility, moderation, gentleness, abandon dream that science/technology can solve all problems. Central Themes of Ecologism Ecology Provides a radically different vision of nature and human place: 'ecocentric' or nature-centred, rather than anthropocentric. Holism Term coined in 1926 by Jan Smuts. Natural world understood as a whole, not through individual parts. Sustainability Living on a planet requires understanding ecological processes that sustain life. Policies and actions judged by principle of 'sustainability' to maintain health and existence. Environmental Ethics Applying moral standards to humans, other species, and organisms (e.g., animal rights). Upheld integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. Self-actualization Alternate philosophy to rejection of human self-interestedness and material greed. Based on Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs', placing esteem and self-actualization above material/economic needs. Deep Ecologism Rejects belief that human species are superior to nature; purpose of human life is to sustain nature. Shallow Ecologism Accepts lessons of ecology but harnesses them to human needs and ends. Major Exponents of Ecologism Ernst Friedrich Schumacher Championed human-scale production, developed ecological philosophy. Work: Small is Beautiful (1973) James Lovelock Best known for Gaia hypothesis: Earth's biosphere as a complex, self-regulating, living 'being'. Works: Gaia (1979), The Ages of Gaia (1989) Murray Bookchin Leading proponent of 'social ecology'. Works: Post-Scarcity Anarchism (1971), The Ecology of Freedom (1982), Remaking Society (1989) Rachel Carson Critique of damage to wildlife and humans from increased use of pesticides. Work: The Silent Spring (1962) Caroline Merchant Highlighted links between gender oppression and "death of nature". Developed feminist critique of scientific revolution explaining environmental degradation. Works: The Death of Nature (1980), Radical Ecology (1991) Rudolph Bahro Best known for attempts to reconcile socialism with ecological theories. Works: Socialism and Survival (1982), From Red to Green (1984), Building the Green Movement (1986) Marxism Derived from the writings of Karl Marx. Emerged in the 19th century. Came into being through efforts of Engels, Karl Kautsky, and Georgi Plekhanov. Appeared in response to oppressive conditions created by the capitalist system. Seeks to lay scientific foundations of socialism. Cornerstone: Engels' 'materialist conception of history'. Main Tenets of Classical Marxism Dialectical Materialism Historical Materialism Doctrine of Class Conflict Theory of Surplus Value Classical Marxism Private property divides society into dominant and dependent classes with irreconcilable interests. Society held together only by ideological power of the dominant class. Human history moves towards freedom through revolutionary destruction, leading to a classless society. Exponents of Classical Marxism Karl Marx Works: The German Ideology (1846), The Poverty of Philosophy (1847), Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848), A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859) Friedrich Engels Works: Anti-Duhring (1877), The Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884), Dialectics of Nature (1925) V.I. Lenin (1870-1924) Works: What Is to Be Done? (1902), Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1916), The State and Revolution (1917) Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) Works: Results and Prospects (1906), History of the Russian Revolution (1931), The Revolution Betrayed (1936) Mao Zedong Works: On the People's Democratic Dictatorship (1949), On the Ten Major Relationships (1956), On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among People (1957) Neo-Marxism Criticized determinism and scientistic tendencies in orthodox Marxism. Does not believe in Marx's prediction of capitalism's inevitable collapse. Focuses more on ideology than economics. No longer treats working class as the sole revolutionary agent. Attempts to criticize social practices and change society. Seeks to analyze dominance, dependence, distortions in contemporary civilization, and ways to human emancipation. Also known as the Frankfurt School or the Critical School. Exponents of Neo-Marxism Theodor Adorno Works: The Authoritarian Personality (1950), The Pattern of the Fascist Propaganda (1951), The Meaning of the Working through the Past (1959) Max Horkheimer Works: Eclipse of Reason (1947), Between Philosophy and Social Science (1938), Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947) Herbert Marcuse Works: Reason and Revolution (1941), One-Dimensional Man (1964) Feminism Concerned with the status and role of women in society relative to men. Protest against inferior status accorded to women, seen as product of 'patriarchy', not reason. Feminist political thought focuses on: Analyzing institutions, processes, and practices subordinating women. Exploring effective ways to challenge this subordination. Basic Themes of Feminism Redefining 'the political' Patriarchy Sex and gender Equality and difference Wave of Feminism First Wave Associated with women's suffrage movement. Emerged in the 1840s and 1850s. Ended with achievement of female suffrage (e.g., New Zealand 1893). Proponents: Mary Wollstonecraft, J.S. Mill, Susan B. Anthony. Second Wave Arose during the 1960s. Expressed radical demands of Women's Liberation Movement, beyond equal rights. Famous slogan: "The personal is the political". Proponents: Betty Friedan, Kate Millet, Germaine Greer, Shulamith Firestone, Simone de Beauvoir, Susan Brownmiller. Third Wave Emerged during the 1990s. More conscious of race; Kimberle Crenshaw coined "intersectionality" (1989). Phrase "third-wave feminism" coined by Rebecca Walker (1992). Made possible by greater economic and professional power of women from the second wave. Proponents: Eve Ensler, Kimberle Crenshaw, Jennifer Baumgardner, Amy Richards. Fourth Wave Began in 2012. Focuses on sexual harassment, body shaming, and rape culture. Most important feature: use of social media to highlight issues. Proponents: Rebecca Solnit, Jessica Valenti, Laura Bates. Major Exponents of Feminism Mary Wollstonecraft Work: A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) - regarded as first text of modern feminism. Simone de Beauvoir (1906–86) Work: The Second Sex (1949) Kate Millett (1934) Work: Sexual Politics (1970) Juliet Mitchell Works: Women's Estate (1971), Psychoanalysis and Feminism (1974), Feminine Sexuality (1985) Shulamith Firestone Work: The Dialectic of Sex (1970) Catherine A. MacKinnon Works: Sexual Harassment and Working Women (1979), Towards a Feminist Theory of the State (1989), Only Words (1993) Germaine Greer Work: The Female Eunuch (1970) Susan Brownmiller Work: Against Our Will (1975) Eve Ensler Work: The Vagina Monologues (1966) Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards Work: Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future (2000) Rebecca Solnit Work: Men Explain Things to Me (2014) Jessica Valenti Work: Sex Object: A Memoir (2016) Laura Bates Work: Everyday Sexism (2016)