scope of political ideas

Question 1

Liberalism

Answer 1

-Rejects “natural” hierarchies (eg. noble birth, hereditary caste, divine wisdom)
-Everyone is born equal
-Grounded in rational and self-interested property- owning individual
-Rights enforced by a secular, centralized state, but with limits on power, toleration, equality of opportunity
-From negative- positive liberty

Question 2

what is an ideology

Answer 2

-Belief system
-Worldview
-Action-oriented
-Evolving

Question 3

conservatism

Answer 3

-Edmund burke’s reflections on the revolution in france (1790)
-Rejects the abstraction of “progressive” liberal principles
-No such thing as an autonomous and self-defined individual
-Emphasis on tradition, relationships, respect for authority, civic virtue

Question 4

history of nationalism

Answer 4

-Johann Gottfried Herder’s is another reaction against the french revolution
-Critical inspiration in 19th century italian and german unification
-Motivates competition that results in WWi; emerges again following World war 11; and more recently in Eastern Europe after collapse of the soviet union

Question 5

socialism

Answer 5

pre-Marxian Thinkers
-Claude Henri Saint-Simon (1760-1825); Charles Fourier (1772–1837); Robert Owen (1771–1858)

Marx (1818-1883)
-Develops “scientific” socialism. Believes socialism is both ethical and historically inevitable. Views the state as a “committee for the bourgeoisie.” Oppressed classes that don’t support socialism suffer from “false consciousness.”

Core Socialist Values and Principles
-Optimism about Human Nature: Can be shaped by social, economic, and political circumstances.
Equality: Advocates for equality of outcome; inequality is a product of social structures.
Community: Emphasizes cooperation and collective goals over individual interests.

Critiques
Utopian: Socialism demands too much from citizens for full emancipation and fulfillment.
Authoritarian: Egalitarian goals can lead to an authoritarian state.

Question 6

fascism

Answer 6

Origins
-20th Century phenomenon
-Benito mussolini (1883-1945) and Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

Key Ideas
-Extreme Nationalism with racial, social, and moral ideas about superiority
-Anti-enlightenment: rejects liberalism, democracy, reason, and individualism
Focus on Action, instinct, emotion over intellectualism.

Political Science
-Anti-communist, but can resemble a national form of socialism (e.g Nazi Party)
-Community, nation, over individual; allegiance to the state.
Requires a strong central rule

Question 7

modern observations

Answer 7

*Zygmunt Bauman: Fascism as an extension of Enlightenment’s darker side, to
Control.
*Rising Racist Parties: e.g., Italy’s Casapound, Greece’s Golden Dawn, other Neo-Nazi movements
*Electoral Viability Tied to economic and social crises.
*Simple Solutions: Blames outsiders for issues like unemployment and unaffordable housing.
*As in the early 20th century, a reaction to extremes of liberalism (e.g., economic and social dislocation)

Question 8

anarchism

Answer 8

Key ideas:
*A stateless, non-hierarchical society based on voluntary cooperation.
*Anti-authoritarianism: Opposition to centralized power and authority (e.g., governments, capitalism).
*Self-management: Emphasis on individuals and communities managing their own affairs directly.
*Voluntary Cooperation: Advocates mutual aid and cooperation without coercion or force.

Types:
*Anarcho-communism: Collective ownership of resources.
*Anarcho-syndicalism: Workers’ control of production.
*Anarcho-capitalism: Free markets without state interference.

Question 9

post modernism

Answer 9

Key ideas:
*Not an ideology per se but a critique of ideologies
*Aims to “lo osen the grip” of terms such as “reality” or “truth”
*Challenges assumptions of modernity, e.g., that certain grounds for knowledge are ever possible
*Contends that knowledge usually hides power

Key figures:
*Michel Foucault (1926–1984), Jacques Derrida (1930–2004), Frederic Jameson (1934-2024)

Question 10

feminism

Answer 10

Key ideas:

*Subordination of women is morally wrong. Status of women is unequal to that of men. Women couldn’t vote until 20th C; NZ first country to allow women to vote.

Question 11

liberal or “first wave” feminism (late 19th-early 20th C)

Answer 11

*Focus on suffrage movement, alteration of marriage laws (women as more than property), reduction of income gaps

Question 12

“Second Wave” Feminism (1960s→)

Answer 12

*The problem is not women’s role in the system, but the system itself
*“The personal is political”;
*Socialist feminism: capitalist society needs to be
transformed so that women’s role is no longer
exploitative

Question 13

intersectionality

Answer 13

*Different forms of oppression go together

Some key figures:
*Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
*Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
*Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986)
*Betty Friedan (1921–2006)
*Gloria Steinem (1934–)
*Sylvia Federici (1942–)
*Nancy Fraser (1947–)
*Judith Butler (1956–)
*Kimberlé Crenshaw (1959–)

Question 14

multiculturalism

Answer 14

Challenges to traditional models of National Citizenship
Pluralistic states
Recognition vs. Participation
“Plurinationalism” (latin america)
Global Relevance

Question 15

religious fundamentalism

Answer 15

-Religion as an ideology: when religion organizes political principles and seeks power to enforce them.
-Separation of Church State: fundamental to liberalism social contract; reaction to religion-centered politics.
-Fundamentalism: insistence on absolute truth of doctrine (e.g sacred texts like bible, Qur’an)
Not limited to religion

Question 16

Benedict Spinoza (1670)

Answer 16

-Early argument against religious fundamentalism. Helped lay the foundation for secular social contract theory
-Argued that religious leaders should not interfere in politics, and that the role of the state should be to guarantee the freedom of its citizens
-Describe at the time as a work “forged in hell by the apostate jew working together with the devil

Question 17

environmentalism

Answer 17

-Main approaches:
Ecologists: economic growth is incompatible with environmental protection
Calls for limits to growth, consumption, and population size.
Some adopt an ecocentric worldview (nature has moral worth)

-Reformists: focus on sustainable development and ecological modernization
Promote renewable energy, environmental goods, and account for economic costs of degradation
Anthropocentric (human-centered) perspective

-Ecocentrism: challenges European philosophical traditions on sentiency

-Green parties: emerging as distinct ideologies challenging traditional political views.

-Hybrids: can combine with other ideologies (e.g, ecosocialism, neoliberalism, ecofeminism, indigenous politics, etc)

Question 18

indigenous politics

Answer 18

-Connection to Nature: Green approaches echo indigenous traditions that emphasize interconnected and cyclical life systems.

-Indigenous Knowledge Systems: thousands of years old, offering insights into the natural world and our role in it

Core teaching of the circle: equality among all beings (humans, animals, plants, etc.)
Increasingly prominent, especially since the 1990s

-Challenges to western principles:
Western principle of Sovereignty: Nation-State
indigenous : some seek recognition within the state (e.g, special status or seats in legislature); others reject the state’s legitimacy (e.g, T.Alfred) and advocate for independent politics.