Political Ideologies
Have you ever wondered about the difference between a liberal and a Democrat or a conservative and a Republican? Or what it means to be a libertarian or a political anarchist? Ideologies are a “set of basic beliefs about the political, economic, social, and cultural affairs”.
Political socialization is the process of how people are introduced to political systems; there are 4 main agents of socialization though there are many other factors. The most important and influencing factor is family, because an individual spends the most time with their family, especially in their early developmental years. Peer groups are the second most important, because the individual begins spending less time with family and more with peers, people of the same age, social status and shared interests. Education is also important, because this is where the individual begins learning about the government, political processes and political stances. Mass media is equally important, because this is how much of the political information is disseminated.
The main two ideologies are liberalism and conservatism, keeping in mind the middle/central which can be identified as centrism. Liberalism emphasizes ending discrimination of any social identifiers and abuse of economic measures. It is rooted in the belief that government is necessary to achieve these goals as well as protect individuals. Conservatism emphasizes traditional institutions and practices, and is often tied to religion. It believes that the government is to be the servant not the master, and thus attempts to avoid government interference. In the U.S. it is easy to identify the Democratic and Republican parties with their ideologies, because U.S. politics is focused on the two-party system. These parties should not be recognizant as the epitome or living form of the ideologies, though, because there are other political parties that from their perspective represent the ideologies. Another liberal party is the Marijuana Party, while another conservative party is the Tea Party. Other forms of ideology stem from these two, as illustrated in the continuum below.
Some other ideologies include: socialism, libertarianism, anarchism, communism, environmentalism, national socialism, fascism, Marxism, totalitarianism, and feminism. Of course, we cannot forget the moderates who sit between conservative and liberal ideologies, and contrary to media representation of politics, actually represents a significant portion of the American electorate.
Socialism believes that capitalism may provide equal opportunity but not equal outcome (two people may do the same job and work equally hard, but one may climb the ranks higher than the other because of preference- race, gender, sexuality, class). Thus, it believes that when left without regulation and “free market”, people can and will be exploited.
Libertarianism focuses on the importance of the individual and the individual’s power, as well as limited government and the rule of law. Libertarianism is very anti-big-government, and in its extreme verges on anarchism in believe that government (at least big government) is not necessary. It hopes to avoid government regulation (like the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, can be argued an infringement upon individuals).
Anarchism is the belief that no government is necessary, and is a utopian foundation. Political anarchists recognize that government is necessary because it helps organize and manage the large population that is Earth, but wants as little interference as possible. The difference between anarchism and libertarianism lies in that utopian idea. Take the topic of vaccines for example. Neither ideology likes the government mandating vaccines, but anarchist are more willing to accept it if citizens/constituents want it, whereas libertarians are wholly opposed to it.
Communism is a political and economic policy that aims at destroying private property and replacing it with communal ownership and communal control of major means of production. The main difference between socialism and communism is that communism is focused solely on the community, while socialism allows for a focus on individuals.
Environmentalism is a political and ethic ideology aiming to minimize and mitigate environmentally harmful human activities. It aims to push these changes through institutionalized processes like changing laws and bringing cases to court.
Fascism is an ideology focusing on “militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in a natural social hierarchy and the rule of the elite” and a belief that individual concerns, wants, and needs are subordinate to the community.
Totalitarianism believes in no individual freedoms, where all aspects of an individual’s life is subordinate to the government, with no questioning of the government’s authority. Not to get them confused, fascism is a type of totalitarianism.
Feminism believes the political system is patriarchal and thus inherently discriminatory. It seeks to increase the social, cultural, and economic standing of women.
Being a Progressive is similar to identifying as liberal. It is important to note, though, that they are separate ideologies. They have different histories and origin stories and thus are popular and important to followers for separate and different reasons. Major differences lie in economic policy. Liberals want to use taxpayer money to fix sociological wrongs, while Progressives want to use government power to make large institutions to play by a set of rules (like monopolies or oligarchies; Monsanto is a good example, owning the patent and rights to sell genetically-modified products, while also being the group who certifies which farmers are using and can use their products).
Of course there other other political ideologies (a plentiful amount actually), but I opted to select the most important (historically or currently) ideologies. I also opted to discuss ideologies that are easily confused with other ideologies because of their similarities.
For a quick and easy (though less detailed) recap, checkout the video above. If you’d like to find out your political ideology and political leaders you identify with, heck out these super in-depth and accurate quizzes here and here.
