Identity & Ideology (Info)

Question 1

What are the two main types of identity?

Answer 1

Personal and Collective

Question 2

What factors influence beliefs and values?

Answer 2

Culture, Language, Media, Relationship to Land, Gender, Religion, and Ideology

Question 3

How does Culture influence beliefs and values?

Answer 3

Culture is learned and passed on from one generation to the next. Each of us is born into a specific cultural situation, absorbing the values, attitudes, and behavior patterns of our culture. Family, community, school, church, things we read, and television shows we watch help mold you into the person you are.

Question 4

How does Language influence beliefs and values?

Answer 4

Language is often a powerful symbol of identity.
- Words frame a people’s most important ideals
- Language defines cultural taboos (ex. swears)
- An indicator of political power (french and political autonomy)
- Iconic images or symbols can play an important part in communicating ideas (the nazi symbol)

Question 5

How does Media influence beliefs and values?

Answer 5

• Today, online platforms, television, film, and print media have become an effective and efficient mediums for conveying political statements on a global level. The media is tremendously influential.
• Shows, movies, and music videos can establish trends for style and social behavior as well as subtly alter people’s perceptions of the world around them.

Question 6

How does Relationship to Land influence beliefs and values?

Answer 6

Geographic location can influence how people see their environment, which in turn has an effect on how they develop their beliefs. (ex. farmers and fishermen).

Question 7

How does Gender influence beliefs and values?

Answer 7

The enculturation a young boy or girl receives as they are growing up is influential. In some countries, the accepted rights and roles of men and women differ significantly.
- For some, strongly defined gender roles are comforting and offer a clear understanding of their place in society.
- For others, rigid gender roles represent a limiting of human potential and are something to be broken down or resisted.

Question 8

How does Religion influence beliefs and values?

Answer 8

Faith makes the individual part of a community that shares a vision of not only what this world should be like, but also how the “next world” will be. Through the centuries religious faith has motivated both acts of tremendous cruelty and violence and gestures of remarkable kindness and sacrifice.

Question 9

How does Ideology influence beliefs and values?

Answer 9

Whether you consider yourself a politically aware person or not, ideology has undoubtedly coloured your perception of the world you live in and helped to shape your beliefs about human nature and society. Ideology has also likely influenced your beliefs about how society should be organized and governed.

Question 10

What are some themes of ideology?

Answer 10

Nation, class, relationship to land, environment, religion, progressivism

Question 11

What characteristic of Ideology is shown?
“thinking about what humans are like and what they are cable of doing”

Answer 11

Belief about Humans

Question 12

What characteristic of Ideology is shown?
“thinking about what is important to members of that society and how we should interact with others”

Answer 12

Belief about Society

Question 13

What characteristic of Ideology is shown?
“how we got to be who we are…rebellions, revolutions, peaceful means, struggle”

Answer 13

Interpretation of History

Question 14

What characteristic of Ideology is shown?
“what should society be like in the future”

Answer 14

Thoughts/Vision for the Future

Question 15

What theme of Ideology is described?
- The Kurds live in parts of Turkey, and Iran and seek self-determination as a nation
- Although they number 30 million, the Kurds of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran are not recognized as a nation-state
- One aspect of their ideology is to seek self-determination as a nation

Answer 15

Nation

Question 16

What theme of Ideology is described?
- Some ideologies which embrace collectivist values, such as communism, seek to eliminate class distinctions in society through income and wealth redistribution
- Other ideologies see class as evidence of a fair distribution of society’s resources based on people’s talents and initiative

Answer 16

Class

Question 17

What theme of ideology is described?
- Some ideologies seek to eradicate racial discrimination
- Other ideologies, such as Nazism, have asserted the superiority of one race over others and have sought to separate people along racial lines

Answer 17

Race

Question 18

What theme of ideology is described?
- Green ideology espouses, among other things, the principle of ecological wisdom, or respect for ecology
- Some thinkers believe that the landscape influences how the people of that land see the world
- For example, people living in a mountainous region might have a different worldview than those living in an agricultural plain

Answer 18

Environment and Relationship to Land

Question 19

What theme of ideology is described?
- Feminist ideologies are concerned with attaining equal legal and political rights for women

Answer 19

Gender

Question 20

What theme of ideology is described?
- Some ideologies, such as liberalism, promote freedom of religion
- Other ideologies try to create a society based on the values of a particular religion

Answer 20

Religion

Question 21

What are some key aspects of our roles within society?

Answer 21

Social Interdependence, Rights and Responsibilities, Social Roles and Expectations, Social Influence and Change, and Cultural Transmission

Question 22

Ideologies share certain common characteristics including…

Answer 22

Rituals, “sacred” documents and heroes, a simplified picture of the world, a belief about the nature of human beings, a plan for the structure of society, and a vision of the future.

Question 23

What are values of individualism?

Answer 23

Individual Rights and Freedoms, Rule of Law, Private Property, Economic Freedom, Self-Interest, Competition

Question 24

What value of Individualism is described?
ie. freedom of religion, freedom of association, and the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person. These rights and freedoms can have negative consequences in some cases, therefore, some liberal democracies attempt to balance the rights of one individual against the rights of other individuals, the rights of groups, and the needs and goals of society.

Answer 24

Individual Rights and Freedoms

Question 25

What value of Individualism is described?
all people are equal before the law; those clearly defined rules, rather than the arbitrary power of an individual or group in a position of authority.

Answer 25

Rule of Law

Question 26

What value of Individualism is described?
includes real estate, other physical possessions, and intellectual property. This concept is contradicted by the ideology of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples who believe no one owns the land.

Answer 26

Private Property

Question 27

What value of Individualism is described?
the personal freedom to buy what you want and to sell your labour, idea, or product to whomever you want also known as free markets.

Answer 27

Economic Freedom

Question 28

What value of Individualism is described?
because other self-interested people are competing in the marketplace, my self-interest is held in check. Each individual will want to produce a better, cheaper, or more convenient good than the next person to earn the money of the buyer. Raising costs, creating poor quality, etc. will only deter people from purchasing which will hurt your self-interest and eliminate competition.

Answer 28

Competition

Question 28

What value of Individualism is described?
everything a person does is for their gain

Answer 28

Self-Interest

Question 29

What are values of collectivism?

Answer 29

Economic Equality, Cooperation, Public Property, Collective Interests, Collective Responsibility, Adherence to Collective Norms

Question 30

What value of Collectivism is described?
depending on the person or ideology, this may include the greater the income, the more taxes paid; all people earn equal wages for work of similar value; guaranteed annual income; all people share in the wealth of the country or world; people own the means of production (ie. factories); everything is free and there is no private property.

Answer 30

Economic Equality

Question 31

What value of Collectivism is described?
individuals are unique and have different ideas about how to do things. Cooperation is the means through which members achieve their common goals. May involve designating roles, following certain protocols for speaking, or following guidelines for decision-making.

Answer 31

Cooperation

Question 32

What value of Collectivism is described?
the state or community owns anything not privately owned by individuals to manage in the best interests of the community. These properties are often maintained with public money raised through taxation.

Answer 32

Public Property

Question 33

What value of Collectivism is described?
a set of interests that members of a group have in common. While an individual may have an interest, it is better to address that interest by making it a common interest that the group can address. (ie. Labour unions can fight for better working conditions, higher pay, etc. for all members)

Answer 33

Collective Interests

Question 34

What value of Collectivism is described?
holding the whole group responsible for the actions of individuals (or individual groups).

Answer 34

Collective Responsibility

Question 35

What value of Collectivism is described?
standards are placed on their members as a condition of membership in the group. These may include conduct, values, or appearance which are often voluntary but seen as binding.

Answer 35

Adherence to Collective Norms