FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWER(MIDTERMS)
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
IDEOLOGY capitalism socialism. Political ideology thus had
- one of the most controversial concepts a strong economic focus.
encountered in political analysis.
- During its sometimes-tortuous career, the A. LIBERALISM
concept of ideology has commonly been used as Any account of political ideologies must start
a political weapon to condemn or criticize rival with liberalism. This is because liberalism is, in
creeds or doctrines. effect, the ideology of the industrialized West,
- The term ‘ideology’ was coined in 1796 by the and is sometimes portrayed as a meta-ideology
French philosopher Destutt de Tracy (1754– that is capable of embracing a broad range of
1836). He used it to refer to a new ‘science of rival values and beliefs.
ideas’ (literally, an idea-ology) that set out to
uncover the origins of conscious thought and Early Liberalism
ideas. De Tracy’s hope was that ideology would reflected the aspirations of a rising industrial
eventually enjoy the same status as established middle class, and liberalism and capitalism have
sciences such as zoology and biology. been closely linked (some have argued
- For Marx, ideology amounted to the ideas of the intrinsically linked) ever since. In its earliest
‘ruling class’, ideas that therefore uphold the form, liberalism was a political doctrine.
class system and perpetuate exploitation:
As reflected in the ideas of thinkers such as
“The ideas of the ruling class are in every John Locke, it attacked absolutism and feudal
epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is privilege, instead advocating constitutional and,
the ruling material force in society, is at the later, representative government.
same time the ruling intellectual force. The
class which has the means of mental production Early 19th Century
at its disposal, has control at the same time over a distinctively liberal economic creed had
the means of mental production” -(Marx and developed that extolled the virtues of
Engels, [1846] 1970:64) laissez-faire all forms of government
intervention. This became the centerpiece of
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY classical, or nineteenth-century, liberalism.
- Political ideology is a set of ideas, values , and
opinions, exhibiting recurring patter. It provides Late 19th Century Onwards
plans of action for public policy making in an a form of social liberalism emerged that looked
attempt to change the social and political more favorably on welfare reform and
arrangement. economic intervention. Such an emphasis
became the characteristic theme of modern, or
CLASSICAL TRADITIONS twentieth-century, liberalism.
- Political ideology arose out of the transition
from feudalism to industrial capitalism. In * Key Ideas in Liberalism:
simple terms, the earliest, or ‘classical’ 1. Individualism
ideologies – liberalism, conservatism and 2. Freedom
socialism – developed as contrasting attempts to 3. Reason
shape emerging industrial society. This meant 4. Equality
that the central theme in ideological debate and 5. Toleration
argument during this period and beyond was the 6. Consent
battle between two rival economic philosophies: 7. Constitutionalism
Mula Sa’yo, Para sa bayan! Good luck! (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭
, support for ‘big’ government rather than
❖ Classical Liberalism ‘minimal’ government. This shift was born out
The central theme of classical liberalism is a of the recognition that industrial capitalism had
commitment to an extreme form of merely generated new forms of injustice and
individualism. Human beings are seen as left the mass of the population subject to the
egoistical, self-seeking and largely self-reliant vagaries of the market.
creatures.
New Liberals (J.S. Mill)
C. B. Macpherson (1962) It championed a broader, ‘positive’ view of
In what C. B. Macpherson (1962) termed freedom. From this perspective, freedom does
‘possessive individualism’, they are taken to be not just mean being left alone, which might
the proprietors of their own persons and imply nothing more than the freedom to starve.
capacities, owing nothing to society or to other Rather, it is linked to personal development and
individuals. This atomist view of society is the flourishing of the individual; that is, the
underpinned by a belief in ‘negative’ liberty, ability of the individual to gain fulfillment and
meaning non- interference, or the absence of achieve self-realization.
external constraints on the individual. This
implies a deeply unsympathetic attitude towards This view provided the basis for social or
the state and all forms of government welfare liberalism. This is characterized by the
intervention. recognition that state intervention, particularly
in the form of social welfare, can enlarge liberty
Tom Paine by safeguarding individuals from the social
The state is a ‘necessary evil’. It is ‘necessary’ evils that blight individual existence. These
in that, at the very least, it establishes order and evils were identified in the UK by the 1942
security, and ensures that contracts are Beveridge Report as the ‘five giants’: want,
enforced. However, it is ‘evil’ in that it imposes ignorance, idleness, squalor and disease.
a collective will on society, thus limiting the
freedom and responsibilities of the individual. In the same way, modern liberals abandoned
The classical liberal ideal is therefore the their belief in laissez-faire capitalism, largely as
establishment of a minimal or ‘night watchman’ a result of J. M. insight that growth and
state, with a role that is limited to the protection prosperity could be maintained only through a
of citizens from the encroachments of fellow system of managed or regulated capitalism,
citizens. with key economic responsibilities being placed
in the hands of the state.
Laissez-Faire Capitalism
In the form of economic liberalism, this ➔ Nevertheless, modern liberals’ support for
position is underpinned by a deep faith in the collective provision and government
mechanisms of the free market and the belief intervention has always been conditional. Their
that the economy works best when left alone by concern has been with the plight of the weak
government. Laissez-faire capitalism is thus and vulnerable, those who are literally not able
seen as guaranteeing prosperity, upholding to help themselves. Their goal is to raise
individual liberty, and, as this allows individuals to the point where they are able,
individuals to rise and fall according to merit, once again, to take responsibility for their own
ensuring social justice. circumstances and make their own moral
choices. The most influential modern attempt to
❖ Modern Liberalism reconcile the principles of liberalism with the
characterized by a more sympathetic attitude politics of welfare and redistribution was
towards state intervention. Indeed, in the USA, undertaken by John Rawls.
the term ‘liberal’ is invariably taken to imply
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
IDEOLOGY capitalism socialism. Political ideology thus had
- one of the most controversial concepts a strong economic focus.
encountered in political analysis.
- During its sometimes-tortuous career, the A. LIBERALISM
concept of ideology has commonly been used as Any account of political ideologies must start
a political weapon to condemn or criticize rival with liberalism. This is because liberalism is, in
creeds or doctrines. effect, the ideology of the industrialized West,
- The term ‘ideology’ was coined in 1796 by the and is sometimes portrayed as a meta-ideology
French philosopher Destutt de Tracy (1754– that is capable of embracing a broad range of
1836). He used it to refer to a new ‘science of rival values and beliefs.
ideas’ (literally, an idea-ology) that set out to
uncover the origins of conscious thought and Early Liberalism
ideas. De Tracy’s hope was that ideology would reflected the aspirations of a rising industrial
eventually enjoy the same status as established middle class, and liberalism and capitalism have
sciences such as zoology and biology. been closely linked (some have argued
- For Marx, ideology amounted to the ideas of the intrinsically linked) ever since. In its earliest
‘ruling class’, ideas that therefore uphold the form, liberalism was a political doctrine.
class system and perpetuate exploitation:
As reflected in the ideas of thinkers such as
“The ideas of the ruling class are in every John Locke, it attacked absolutism and feudal
epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is privilege, instead advocating constitutional and,
the ruling material force in society, is at the later, representative government.
same time the ruling intellectual force. The
class which has the means of mental production Early 19th Century
at its disposal, has control at the same time over a distinctively liberal economic creed had
the means of mental production” -(Marx and developed that extolled the virtues of
Engels, [1846] 1970:64) laissez-faire all forms of government
intervention. This became the centerpiece of
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY classical, or nineteenth-century, liberalism.
- Political ideology is a set of ideas, values , and
opinions, exhibiting recurring patter. It provides Late 19th Century Onwards
plans of action for public policy making in an a form of social liberalism emerged that looked
attempt to change the social and political more favorably on welfare reform and
arrangement. economic intervention. Such an emphasis
became the characteristic theme of modern, or
CLASSICAL TRADITIONS twentieth-century, liberalism.
- Political ideology arose out of the transition
from feudalism to industrial capitalism. In * Key Ideas in Liberalism:
simple terms, the earliest, or ‘classical’ 1. Individualism
ideologies – liberalism, conservatism and 2. Freedom
socialism – developed as contrasting attempts to 3. Reason
shape emerging industrial society. This meant 4. Equality
that the central theme in ideological debate and 5. Toleration
argument during this period and beyond was the 6. Consent
battle between two rival economic philosophies: 7. Constitutionalism
Mula Sa’yo, Para sa bayan! Good luck! (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭
, support for ‘big’ government rather than
❖ Classical Liberalism ‘minimal’ government. This shift was born out
The central theme of classical liberalism is a of the recognition that industrial capitalism had
commitment to an extreme form of merely generated new forms of injustice and
individualism. Human beings are seen as left the mass of the population subject to the
egoistical, self-seeking and largely self-reliant vagaries of the market.
creatures.
New Liberals (J.S. Mill)
C. B. Macpherson (1962) It championed a broader, ‘positive’ view of
In what C. B. Macpherson (1962) termed freedom. From this perspective, freedom does
‘possessive individualism’, they are taken to be not just mean being left alone, which might
the proprietors of their own persons and imply nothing more than the freedom to starve.
capacities, owing nothing to society or to other Rather, it is linked to personal development and
individuals. This atomist view of society is the flourishing of the individual; that is, the
underpinned by a belief in ‘negative’ liberty, ability of the individual to gain fulfillment and
meaning non- interference, or the absence of achieve self-realization.
external constraints on the individual. This
implies a deeply unsympathetic attitude towards This view provided the basis for social or
the state and all forms of government welfare liberalism. This is characterized by the
intervention. recognition that state intervention, particularly
in the form of social welfare, can enlarge liberty
Tom Paine by safeguarding individuals from the social
The state is a ‘necessary evil’. It is ‘necessary’ evils that blight individual existence. These
in that, at the very least, it establishes order and evils were identified in the UK by the 1942
security, and ensures that contracts are Beveridge Report as the ‘five giants’: want,
enforced. However, it is ‘evil’ in that it imposes ignorance, idleness, squalor and disease.
a collective will on society, thus limiting the
freedom and responsibilities of the individual. In the same way, modern liberals abandoned
The classical liberal ideal is therefore the their belief in laissez-faire capitalism, largely as
establishment of a minimal or ‘night watchman’ a result of J. M. insight that growth and
state, with a role that is limited to the protection prosperity could be maintained only through a
of citizens from the encroachments of fellow system of managed or regulated capitalism,
citizens. with key economic responsibilities being placed
in the hands of the state.
Laissez-Faire Capitalism
In the form of economic liberalism, this ➔ Nevertheless, modern liberals’ support for
position is underpinned by a deep faith in the collective provision and government
mechanisms of the free market and the belief intervention has always been conditional. Their
that the economy works best when left alone by concern has been with the plight of the weak
government. Laissez-faire capitalism is thus and vulnerable, those who are literally not able
seen as guaranteeing prosperity, upholding to help themselves. Their goal is to raise
individual liberty, and, as this allows individuals to the point where they are able,
individuals to rise and fall according to merit, once again, to take responsibility for their own
ensuring social justice. circumstances and make their own moral
choices. The most influential modern attempt to
❖ Modern Liberalism reconcile the principles of liberalism with the
characterized by a more sympathetic attitude politics of welfare and redistribution was
towards state intervention. Indeed, in the USA, undertaken by John Rawls.
the term ‘liberal’ is invariably taken to imply
