Ideology Note: these are ‘generalizations’ and are not ‘all inclusive’… An ideology is a collection of ideas, typically containing ideas on what it considers to be the best form of government (democracy, theocracy, etc), & the best economic system (capitalism, socialism, etc). Sometimes the same word is used to identify both an ideology & one of its main ideas, e.g., "socialism" may refer to an economic system, or to an ideology which supports that economic system. - Political ideologies generally have two dimensions: Goals: (how society should work or be arranged) and Methods: (the most appropriate ways to achieve the ideal arrangement). - Ideology is basically constant, & we generally use a straight line ‘left is liberal & right …show more content…
or support: - Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest), believe in self reliance & individualism, and as such; - generally against ‘social welfare’ programs to re-distribute wealth (from rich to poor) - believe private business should be left alone to compete in ‘free market enterprise’ without gov’t control or interference, however, they routinely favor government support & funding for highways, etc, and other programs to promote business (assistance) - generally ‘traditionalists’, for political ‘status quo’ & view change suspiciously - generally favor stiff criminal penalties (strong law & order), emphasize ‘traditional’ moral & family values (anti-abortion, anti-homosexual, anti-same sex marriage) - are skeptical of human nature; believe ‘the rich get richer while the poor get poorer’ is the law of nature, because some people are stronger, smarter, harder working than others Liberals generally believe government should take care of all the problems of society; that government power should be used to protect the disadvantaged, individuals, the masses - generally believe individual concentrations of wealth & power (wealthy elite) control the government, destroy economic competition & weaken individual freedom, and as such; - generally believe it necessary for the government to regulate the economy and ‘big business’ to protect ‘the workers’, ‘the masses’, ‘the people’ from the ‘wealthy elite’ - generally support ‘social welfare’ programs (redistribution
Liberal beliefs on various issues. On terms of property, Liberals believe that the redistribution of wealth would cause for a more just society. They also believe that the government has the responsibility to take from some and give to others. They are more open and accepting of societal change, such as same-sex marriage. Unlike Conservatives, Liberals believe the primary cause of crime is poverty. Poorest neighborhoods have the highest crime rate because the people are hopeless and have no opportunities. The Second Amendment gives the right to bear arms. Liberals have a narrow interpretation. They believe Americans have too many guns, cause violence, and have access to guns too easily. on terms of Abortion, Liberals believe abortion is a
Political ideology within a state is established by examining individual ideas about politics and how they are related (Shively, 2014). Even though, not every political ideas are equal, however, they bear some sort of relationship or resemblance. Generally within a state, “ideologies are usually determine by intellectual structure from which one can derive number of disparate policy positions” (Shively, 2014, p. 25).
These ideological tendencies mentioned are present in a political culture that tends to favor low taxes, low government services, and pro-business policies.(Texas Politics-Texas Political Culture)Although this particular control of government is popular among the people who give respect. Economic liberalism is the belief where the economy should be made prosperous by the individuals and not through institutions or organizations. Social conservatism favors to keep any traditional values and morals while populism is the belief that the government should be controlled by ordinary individuals instead of political elites or insiders that have power.(Texas Politics-Texas Political
There are three political ideologies that are addressed by Cullen and Gilbert (2012). The first one is the conservative ideology. Conservatives place their main emphasis on traditional values, and tend to have issues when someone tries to change tradition. According to conservatives, maintaining social order is an important way to protect society as a whole. Individuals are on their own when it comes to the ideology of conservatives. They have the assumption that individuals are responsible for their own actions, good or bad. Conservatives will protect innocent citizens, but will focus on the punishment of guilty one rather than rehabilitation.
“Ideology is a body of ideas concerning economic, social and political values and goals which posit action programmes for attaining these goals.”—Padelford and Lincoln
To begin with, economic issue is the most prominent topic that both liberals and conservatives have opposing views on. Liberals believe that a government should handle the economy in order for it to grow. Conversely, conservatives believe in the system of free market, where individuals decide the price, the products to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce. The reason why conservatives believe that a government should not get involved in the economy is that, the government cannot determine all of the society’s needs, and because there is
In Chapters 2-4 of Political Communication Rhetoric, Government, and Citizens by Dan F. Hahn, the author talks about the different ideologies and talks about definitions. According to Hahn, ideology is society’s belief structure. Ideology can be used in arguments and an example Hahn provided would be apples because of it’s complexity in regards to the variety and so on. One form of ideology is political ideology. Political ideology is society’s political belief structure. The two primary political ideologies in the United States are liberalism and conservatism. Liberalism is founded by two religious arguments and those two arguments are we are created free by God; no one lower can command us and one can make a good mistake as long as one choose between right and wrong. For conservatism, it’s founded by the rules that God provide for humans; no one lower can alter the rules and one can make a good mistake as long as it is in
There has been a lot of fuss over big business influencing the government in the United States lately. Now there is no doubt that the business elite have some influence on politics. It can even be traced back to the early 1900’s, when “the People’s Party had disintegrated, but many writers and activists have continued to echo the Populists’ central thesis: that the U.S. democratic political system is in fact dominated by business elites” (). Although there are countless arguments to go against this idea, the questions still comes up today: Is government dominated by big business? Political Scientist G. William Domhoff believes that government is dominated by big business. More specifically, Domhoff believes that owners and top-level managers in income-producing properties are not only dominant power figures in the US, but they also have inordinate influence in the federal government (). Another political scientist however, Sheldon Kamieniecki, believes otherwise. He states that businesses do not really get involved in policies that affect them; and even when they do, their success rate at influencing policies is not consistent. In fact, he believes that other factions have more influence on government policies ().
These are organisations or individuals with strong views that may influence the decisions of businesses and the government.
Different ideologies tend to appeal to different demographic characteristics such as gender, class, race, etc. because a person’s background will affect which system of ideas they most closely align with. Liberalism and conservatism, for example, are ideologies that regularly contradict each other, because they appeal to different demographics based upon many factors such as class, race, gender, religion, etc. The general worldview of liberalism is that people have individual rights and liberty, while promoting progress. On the other hand, conservatism places greater importance of keeping tradition and strict regulation of rules. In determining the extent of appeal to different demographics, one must assess the ways in which both ideologies
What exactly is liberalism? According to Sidlow (2013), liberalism is the belief that "big government" is necessary for the promotion of the common good (p.16). Without government action, many social and economic outcomes for many people would turn out badly. In other words, without
They try to enforce social order according to their selfish ideals, and will fight to either push their conservative beliefs religiously on the right side of the spectrum, or shout all of the "ism's" from Racism, Sexism on the liberal spectrum which a lot have hijacked.
Upon taking the “Worlds smallest Political quiz” online, the website told me that I was a Centrist. A Centrist is a person who favors selective political involvement and practical solutions to modern problems. A Centrist tends to keep an open mind on new issues and prefers capitalism to work out economic problems if at all possible. Although I was a centrist I was on the boarder line of being a right wing conservative who would like to see a capitalistic society and little government intervention. The next quiz was an ideology quiz. This quiz told me that I also tended towards the conservative side. I apparently also would like to see order in society instead of equality. These two tests showed similar results in that both said I was more closely related to a conservative than a liberal. The “Worlds smallest Political Quiz” showed the national results and percentages of those who have previously taken the test. The majority of people who take the quiz, 37.7% are liberals. The second most popular grouping is Centrist at 29 %. The ideology quiz stated that the average of all those who take this quiz are liberal as well.
Wealth in relation to the upper class is defined not as income, but “the value of everything a person or family owns, minus any debts” (Domhoff 2005). Income according to Domhoff, “is what people earn from work, but also from dividends, interest, and any rents or royalties that are paid to them on properties they own” (Domhoff 2011). Those who own a great deal of wealth do not derive it from income, although they may have a high income resulting from the returns on their wealth. (Domhoff 2011) As for the power the upper class wields on politics, the economy and the government, it is indirectly carried out “through the activities of a wide variety of organizations and institutions. These organizations and institutions are financed and directed by those members of the upper class who have the interest and ability to involve themselves in protecting and enhancing the privileged social position of their class” (Domhoff 2005). This description of the upper class by Domhoff provides the basis for the argument that it institutionally exist - an organized, cohesive group set apart by its wealth and power.
The political ideology that best represents my views is liberalism. Liberalism is an ideology that emphasizes, “cultural diversity, government programs for the needy, public intervention in the economy, and individuals’ rights to a lifestyle based on their own social and moral positions” (Morone & Kersh, 2014, p. 37). In other words, liberalism promotes government assistance for individuals in need as well as protect every individual’s rights.