Political Ideology

“A political ideology is a set of ideas, beliefs, opinions, and values that 1) exhibit a recurring pattern, 2) are held by significant groups, 3) compete over providing and controlling plans for public policy, and 4) do so with the aim of justifying, contesting or changing the social and political arrangements and process of a political community.”

Freeden, M. (2003). Ideology: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford Press.

Liberalism

Core Concepts:  “The supposition that human beings are rational; an insistence on liberty of thought and a belief in human and social progress; the assumption that the individual is the prime social unit and a unique choice maker; the postulation of sociability and human benevolence and normal; an appeal to the general interest rather that to particular loyalties; reservations about power unless it is constrained and made accountable; and a critical questioning of motives and actions that introduces a readiness to rethink one’s own conceptual arrangements and practices, and to tolerate those of others.”

Freeden, M. (2003). Ideology: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford Press.

Socialism

Core Concepts: “Sees the group as the basic social unit; human beings are constituted by their relationship with human and non-human environment; passion for equality, for the removal of hierarchical distinctions, and for the redistribution of goods on the basis of need; singles out work as the fundamental constitutive feature of human nature around which social organization must be structured; cherishes an ideal of human welfare or flourishing based in the short run on the elimination of poverty and in the long run on the free participation of all in the material and intellectual inheritance of humanity; fosters a belief in the promise held out by the historical process and the ability of human beings to direct that process to beneficial ends.”

Freeden, M. (2003). Ideology: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford Press.

Conservatism

“Core Concepts: Anxiety about change and the urge to distinguish between unnatural and natural change; only change in growth as growth is legitimate, safe and steady; conviction that social order is founded on laws that are insulated from human control (impervious to human will); natural hierarchy as opposed to equality.”

Freeden, M. (2003). Ideology: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford Press

“Political attitude or ideology denoting a preference for institutions and practices that have evolved historically and are thus manifestations of continuity and stability."

conservatism. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/133435/conservatism

Libertarianism

“Political philosophy that stresses personal liberty.

Libertarians believe that individuals should have complete freedom of action, provided their actions do not infringe on the freedom of others. Libertarianism’s distrust of government is rooted in 19th-century anarchism. Typical libertarians oppose not only the income tax and other government impositions but also programs seen by many as beneficial, such as social security and the postal service. In the U.S. their views often crosscut traditional party boundaries (e.g., libertarians oppose gun control, as do most Republicans, but support the legalization of prohibited drugs, as do some liberal Democrats).”

libertarianism. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339321/libertarianism

Fascism

"Philosophy of government that stresses the primacy and glory of the state, unquestioning obedience to its leader, subordination of the individual will to the state’s authority, and harsh suppression of dissent.

Martial virtues are celebrated, while liberal and democratic values are disparaged. Fascism arose during the 1920s and ’30s partly out of fear of the rising power of the working classes; it differed from contemporary communism by its protection of business and landowning elites and its preservation of class systems."

fascism. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/202210/fascism

Anarchism

"Cluster of doctrines and attitudes centered on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary.

Derived from the Greek root (anarchos) meaning “without authority,”"

anarchism. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/22753/anarchism

"A political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups"

anarchism. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anarchism