Political Ideology
Notes
Ideology Defined
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Ideology is a set of basic beliefs about life,
culture, government, and society.
Politics – Process by which people decided
which members of society get certain benefits or
privileges and which do not
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Struggle for power or influence within institutions or
organizations (govt is an institution)
A political ideology provides the framework for
looking at government and public policy.
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Closely linked set of beliefs about politics
Ideology
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Most Americans don’t follow a strict ideology,
but rather decide their position on an issue
by issue basis.
Inconsistency – Many people might favor
lower taxes AND better schools and services.
Its never good to make generalizations about
what a certain “group” thinks
Traditional political spectrum
Liberal – “Left-ist”
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A person with liberal ideology believes that the
national government should be active in helping
individuals and communities and improving the
welfare of individuals.
Respect civil/individual liberties/rights.
Every segment of society gets a fair deal.
Traditionally viewed as the group that favors
change and new ideas
Govt should take action to reduce poverty and
regulate the economy
Conservative –
“Right-ist”
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A conservative believes the role of government in
society should be very limited.
Individuals should be responsible for their own wellbeing.
Government should not solve social problems, but
private institutions should (they are more
effective/efficient).
Traditionally viewed as the group that avoided change
Support for traditional values
Strong sense of patriotism
Moderates
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Moderate’s opinions fall somewhere between
liberal and conservative.
40% of Americans claim to be moderate.
Some Comparisons
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Death Penalty
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Defense/Military Spending
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Liberals – against it
Conservatives – for it
Liberals -- decrease or maintain amount
Conservatives – increase amount
Minimum Wage
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Liberals – increase it
Conservative – lower or eliminate it
Radical – Far Left
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Believe society exploits people and want to
drastically change society in order to change
it.
Example group – anarchists, Earth First
Reactionary – Far Right
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Strongly conservative
Small minority of people
Solve society’s problems by going back to an
earlier time or use religious based solutions
Libertarians
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Center-Right side of spectrum
Believe in a very small government whose
role is limited to defense and resolving
disputes
Do not want any gov. involvement in
economics or society
Communism and Fascism
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Neither fit in the traditional spectrum
Communism – revolutionary variant of
socialism that favors a dictatorship, govt
control of all enterprise and a centrally
planned economy
Facism – 20th c. ideology that exalts the
national collective united behind an absolute
ruler. Fascism rejects liberalism, glorifies
war, and favors elitism.