Topic 2 - Idealogies Flashcards
Ideologies
systematic structures of political thought; or world-views.
Liberalism or Liberals
believe that the economic and political rights of the individual are paramount. Individuals should have the right to enjoy their property and wealth as they choose, with the minimum taxation or government restriction. Liberalism has an economic, political and social dimension; all emphasise individual rights.
Socialism or Socialist
see the world divided into classes, largely defined by wealth and economic power, or the lack of it. Social democrats argue that the power of the state should be used to partly redistribute wealth, and give workers a say in the running of society. Socialists are a major political force in many West European countries, such as France, Greece and Germany.
Conservatism or Conservatives
emphasise the importance of nationalism, hierarchy, social order, private property and a strong government. The Liberal and National parties in Australia are (mostly) conservative.
What is Australia’s political system?
Countries like Australia are described as having liberal democratic political systems. They are liberal because they have entrenched the right to private property and individual rights. They are democratic in the sense that citizens have the right to elect the government.
Does Inequality matter?
Liberals argue that inequality is necessary as an incentive to work harder
Social democrats believe that it means deeper divisions between the haves and have-nots. One result was Occupy Wall Street, and similar movements around the world in 2011.
Democracy
a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.
Classical Liberalism
is a political ideology and a branch of liberalism which advocates civil liberties and political freedom with representative democracy under the rule of law and emphasizes economic freedom
Social Liberalism
is a political ideology that seeks to find a balance between individual liberty and social justice. Like classical liberalism, social liberalism endorses a market economy and the expansion of civil and political rights and liberties, but differs in that it believes the legitimate role of the government includes addressing economic and social issues such as poverty, health care, and education.
Class
the control that people have over their own work and the control that they have over other people’s work. Using these criteria, society can be divided into three classes: the class that rules (the capitalist class); the class that produces-but-not-for-itself (the working class); and the class in between (the middle class).
Right-wing
is generally used to refer to the area of the political spectrum associated with various types of conservative thinking, as well as a belief in letting the market operate free from government intervention.
Left-wing
generally refers to the part of the political spectrum associated with socialism and small ‘l’ liberal thinking (as opposed to the Liberal Party in Australia, which is right-wing). Left-wing beliefs generally promote varying degrees of government control of welfare and industry as well as a focus on social justice and environmental issues.
