Topic: Contemporary political ideologies. Part I

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

high school / technical school student

Core curriculum:

• old curriculum:

extended level:

16. Politics, ideologies, political doctrines and programmes.

The student:

5) characterizes totalitarian ideologies (communism, nazism), using historical examples;

6) characterizes the most important contemporary political doctrines (christian democracy, conservatism, liberalism, nationalism, social democracy, socialism).

• new curriculum:

extended level:

V. State, political thought and democratization.

The student:

6) compares the assumptions of liberal and conservative thought;

7) compares the assumptions of social democracy and the Catholic social teaching;

8) presents the assumptions of fascism, nazism and communism and criticizes them from the point of view of human rights and democracy.

The general aim of education:

The student uses information to create his own statement on social issues, including politics, and to evaluate these issues.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• distinguishes the relationship between an individual and the government in various political ideologies.

• justifies the importance of the historical context in the shaping of political ideologies.

• explains what changes influenced the perception of relations between individuals and the state, and how the scope of individual freedom has changed.

• compares the views of different ideologies regarding the same problems in state policies.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• brainstorming,

• SWOT analysis,

• teaching conversation using interactive exercises.

Forms of work:

• self‑learning,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will find out, what an ideology is, an you will analyze the most important ideologies of our times (liberalism, conservatism, social democracy).

2. The teacher asks the students what their understanding of the term “ideology” is. He points out to the etymology of the word. He informs the students that they will be using the brainstorming method and explains the method if necessary. A chosen moderator writes down the students suggestions on the board. Then the teacher asks a willing/selected student to phrase a definition. The rest of the students complete it if necessary. The final version of the definition is to be written on the board.

Implementation:

1. The teacher displays exercise 1 on the interactive board and divides the students into five groups. The task of each group is to establish (respectively):

• the most important values characteristic of each of the ideologies,

• the views of each ideology on the human nature and individual’s relation with society,

• the economic views of each ideology,

• the representatives of each ideology (historical and contemporary)

• the beliefs and worldview of each ideology (e.g. gay marriage, abortion, religion classes at school, etc.).

The teacher informs the students, that the goal of this part of the activity is to establish the differences between the ideologies. The teacher sets the time to complete the task and assists the students in finding appropriate information, and arranging it into coherent notes. The students are allowed to use the abstract and other internet resources.

2. Then the teacher divides the class into three groups – conservatives, liberals and social democrats - so that in every group there is at least one person, who worked on each of the areas from the first part of the activity (they become experts). Each of the members of the newly created groups reports the information to the rest of the group, he managed to remember at the stage of research and the group tries to establish the connections inside of each area. The teacher informs the students, that the goal of this part of the activity is to establish the connections between the elements of each ideology in such a way, that the ideology seems coherent. Each group appoints a moderator, whose job is to facilitate the discussion and ensure, that each member of the group speaks out at least twice. The groups also appoint a writer, who takes notes, which will be placed into the exercise.

3. The teacher asks the writers to fill in the boxes in the exercise. Then the moderators present the results of the group work.

4. The teacher informs the students, they will analyze each of the ideologies using the SWOT analysis method. He divides the class into three groups - conservatives, liberals and social democrats – making sure that each student is a part of a different group than before (e.g. the former “conservatives” are working on liberalism now, former “liberals” – on social democracy, and former “social democrats” – on conservatism). The students use exercise 2. Their task is to establish at least two strengths of the ideology, two weaknesses, as well as two opportunities and two threats, that result from implementing the ideology in practice. Then the teacher displays exercise 2 on the interactive board, and the representatives present the results of the group work. The rest of the students comment on the presentations and suggest, how they could be supplemented, if they have any additional ideas. The teacher ensures the students answers are correct.

Summary:

1. To debrief the lesson, the teacher asks the students to use the generator in the abstract to create a crossword. The passwords should relate to the issues discussed in class. Then the students exchange their crosswords and together solve a couple of them. The teacher makes sure the answers are correct.

2. Homework proposal:

a. Who am I: a conservatist, a liberal, or a social democrat? Which of the ideologies seems most convincing to you? Why? (The choice of the ideology will not, of course, be graded – what’s important is the quality of argumentation).

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Contemporary political ideologies. Part I

The word „ideology” comes from the Greek language: idéa - imagination; lógos - word, science. Ideology is a set of values, beliefs, ideas and views describing and evaluating the reality. It is a vision of the existing world and a projection of the future. Ideology is also a set of rules of conduct for social movements and political parties. Ideology consists of philosophical, economic, legal, ethical, religious and artistic concepts. The creators and supporters of each ideology refer to the rights of an individual and his role in society, the functioning of state institutions, changes in the existing social order, freedom and justice. They present a structured image of the existing world, talking about the necessary changes and improvements. They point to an idealistically understood goal that society should aspire to. Ideology usually justifies the entirety of political activities and defines goals to complete at a certain stage of action, such as gaining power or the reforms which will be introduced afterwards.

Ideology provides the basis for the creation of political doctrines. Doctrines are more specific in comparison to ideology in terms of the methods that should be applied to achieve the goals and values set out in the ideology. Political programmes are created on the basis of doctrines. These programmes intend to implement specific aims in a particular place and time (socio‑political reality). Referring to ideology helps to convince the public of the necessity of the proposed changes.

Most of the main assumptions of modern political thought were born during the Enlightenment. It was a time of social development, political emancipation of Western bourgeoisie. During the Enlightenment in France, where the main philosophical foundations of this epoch were created, in the second half of the 18th century, a severe crisis of the state and the Church took place.

These two institutions, cooperating in the previous period, were the main authorities for the majority of French society. In the second half of the 18th century, due to internal events in France and the international situation, the ineptitude of their actions became apparent, and their moral decline was revealed. It is difficult to preserve the authority in such a situation. At the same time it was a period of rapid development of an individual, the so‑called free professions began to develop, there were more and more educated people, new philosophical trends emerged, questioning the Church as an intermediary between man and God or denying the existence of God altogether.

Liberalism

In this completely new situation, which encouraged bold views to be expressed, the liberal doctrine was born. John Locke is regarded as the main author of liberalism. Although not a Frenchman, he could observe social changes in the neighboring country. He could also see the effects of the development of manufactories and the first factories in his own country. His views became the basis for political liberalism, which was a doctrine developed by Charles Montesquieu and John Stuart Mill. Liberalism is a quite dynamic ideology. It has different varieties – from social Darwinism to social liberalism.

The main assumptions of liberalism are based on the concept of individual freedom, on an individual’s right to choose his own way of life. In the eighteenth century, supporters of liberalism assumed that people are born equal, that is why it is enough to introduce equality of the law and everyone can decide for themselves. They did not take into account any cultural differences that result from the social position of each individual. They believed that everyone could be free and the only thing that should limit the individual’s freedom is the freedom of others. Contemporary advocates of liberalism notice the problem of cultural capital and express the view that the state has certain minimal obligations towards its citizens in the matter of enabling them to acquire education.

Another important assumption of liberalism is the existence of a free market economy. Adam Smith and David Ricardo are considered creators of economic liberalism. They wanted to limit the interference of the state into the role of a „night watchman”. This meant that it is the state's duty to ensure security for citizens, while the remaining spheres of life depend only on their own invention. Smith and Ricardo were supporters of the so‑called laissez‑faire. This view assumed total economic freedom and aversion to any elements of state intervention in the economy. Liberals were also advocates of the separation of the state from the Church and leaving matters related to religious practices solely to the individual's decisions. This resulted in the necessity to introduce civil family legislation. Liberalism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries underwent various transformations. A more modern representative of this doctrine was August Friedrich von Hayek. His book, “The Constitution of Liberty” is the basic guide for the views of modern liberals.

Conservatism

The answer to the liberal doctrine, which was based on the rejection of authorities, and especially the authority of the state and the Church, was the conservative doctrine, which was established at the beginning of the 19th century. Edmund Burke is considered one of the main creators of this doctrine. His most famous work, “Reflections on the Revolution in France”, is a direct assessment of the events in France at the end of the 18th century. It also contains the main assumptions of the new doctrine. The name conservatism (Latin conservatus – preserved), however, was used a little later. In 1820, François‑René de Chateaubriand published the first issue of his periodical under the title „Conservative”.

The main assumption of conservatism is basing all social and political activities on recognized authorities and a deep respect for the past and tradition. In contrast to liberals, conservatives are supporters of a strong state strengthened by the authority of the Church as an institution that cares about the morality of the individual. Supporters of this doctrine considered the class division of society to be natural and grant the right to exercise power only to the intellectual and cultural elites. At the time the doctrine was born, the conservatives believed that the only group that should have the right to exercise power is the aristocracy, because only in these families the traditions of power and education allow the selection of the best representatives. At the same time, they were advocates of the idea of “noblesse oblige”, which means “nobility obliges”. They understood this as an obligation to work for the common good and enlightenment of the lower social strata. Contemporary conservatives, of course, appreciate the benefits of democracy.

In the field of economy, conservatives are advocates of the free market economy and state protection of property rights. They also believe that the social obligations of the state and the role of trade unions in the economy should be limited.

Tradition for conservatives is primarily the life principles that you learn at home from your family. Conservatives, therefore, support multi‑generational families in which the individual gains cultural capital and learns to work for the social good. This is related to another conservative assumption, namely the view that each individual, in his place of the social ladder, should work for the social good. In his life, conservatives claim, a citizen is supported by his religious community. Conservatives also have unanimous views on the issues of criminal law – they are advocates of severe punishment for committed crimes. Some of them also voice the necessity of reinstating the death penalty.

Socialism and communism

Implementation of the assumptions of the liberal economy allowed for the rapid economic development of European countries in the 19th century. Industrialisation led to a dramatic increase in the number of workers – a strong new social group was created. At the same time, the assumptions of a free market economy did not include labor rights. The mid‑nineteenth century, the period of the Spring of Nations, is the time of the birth of new social movements against all kinds of oppression, first of all national and social. In the year of the outbreak of European revolutions, a work was published by two German philosophers and economists, which became the basis of the new political doctrine, or rather two doctrines – social democracy and communism.

In “The Communist Manifesto” published in 1848, its authors, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, refer to three basic areas: the views of utopian socialists previously operating in Europe and the United States, the political economy of capitalism and materialistic philosophy. The new doctrine, therefore, had a theoretical scientific basis.

The main assumptions of socialism, because this is what the first leftist views were ultimately called, was the cessation of class struggle, the introduction of common property, and the abolition of the state. The creators of the doctrine believed that the workers are able to decide for themselves, and the state is only a form of keeping the exploited groups (workers or proletariat, who do not own any means of production and have to sell their own labour power) in check and acts in the interests of the capitalists (owning the means of production and purchasing the labour power of others). Therefore, the slogan of the creators of the doctrine was “Workers of the world, unite!”. The slogan was supposed to provoke a Europe‑wide revolution caused by the awareness of their rights and expectations German workers as the best organized and conscious. After the end of the revolution, the borders between states were to disappear.

These views were not reflected in the activities of workers, and the industrial development brought diversity in their standard of living and expectations towards employers. At the same time, the introduction of universal suffrage in France and lowering the census of property in the parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom gave chances for political change without triggering a revolution, but using the democratic principle. A crucial moment in the birth of two separate doctrines, derived from socialism, was the Second International, which began its deliberations in 1889.

During the Second International, its participants divided into two groups: advocates of reformism, which was transformed into social democratic doctrine and supporters of revolutionism, who in the end created a slightly changed in relation to the views of Marx and Engels, communist doctrine.

Social Democrats (e.g. Ilia Berlin, Eduard Bernstein, Jack Jaures) began to proclaim the necessity and possibility of reforming capitalism through the parliamentary route. They believed that universal suffrage should be introduced in parliamentary elections, an eight‑hour day's work, paid holiday leaves, retirement pensions, pensions and health benefits for people who suffered accidents at work. From the original assumptions of socialism, the doctrine still retains that the interests of the individual should be subordinated to the interests of the community. Their slogan was: to each according to his needs. This could have been perceived negatively, because it meant that hard work and commitment to the community would not always be well rewarded. However, the supporters of the doctrine proclaimed the need to reduce social differences, expecting full commitment from every citizen. From an economic point of view, the supporters of social democracy support the free market economy based on three types of ownership: private, cooperative and state. They wanted to reduce the differences between citizens by means of a tax system, in which the percentage of tax paid increases with the income of the taxpayer (progressive tax). They also support state interventionism.

The communist doctrine was also transformed. New supporters of communism, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, believed that the process of raising the awareness of the proletariat could follow the communist revolution. In their views, the leading role of the Communist Party emerged, which should lead the revolutionary uprising, and after its victory, the education process was to take place. Like the creators of the communist doctrine (Marx, Engels), they believed that the revolution should reach all European countries (the whole world). The Communists were advocates of absolute equality, which was also supposed to manifest in access to consumer goods. They voiced the view that each individual deserves the same amount. They did not consider individual needs or commitment. They wanted to introduce a centrally planned state economy, which would enable the redistribution of goods. They did not see the need to create nation states. When the communist nation states ultimately emerged, they turned out to be a distortion of the self‑government and became states with undemocratic regimes. At present, the communist views are voiced by an insignificant group of citizens of democratic countries. However, they try to include the principles of the democratic system in their views. The communist parties ceased to be anti‑systemic.

Political ideologies have been and are an important element of the life of democratic societies. They allow political parties to shape recognizable programs, in which sometimes slogans define a political programme. Ideologies determine the place of political parties in the electoral market. Due to including the name of an ideology into the name of the party, it is easier for a citizen to accept or reject its ideas. Thanks to ideology, we can establish the attitude of its supporters to individual freedom, the state‑church relationship, or the level of state intervention in the economy. Knowing the theoretical foundations of ideology, it is easier for the citizen to find representatives with similar view of the world to his own.