1.1 the political systems_website

Welcome to Social Studies 11!

• Be prepared!• Come to class on time!• Bring your Cornell Note taking paper!• Bring your burning need to learn!• Bring your smiles and laughter!• Leave your unhappiness behind• We are about to go on a learning adventure

together!

The Political Spectrum

The Political Spectrum

• Communism• Socialism• Reform Liberalism• Classical Liberalism• Conservatism• Fascism

What is politics?

• What comes to mind when you think of Political systems?

Hitler

Mussolini

Democracy

• Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.

• Direct Democracy: Each citizen votes on the issue in question• Representative Democracy: Citizens elect a representative

from a pool of candidates (generally representative of a political ideology) to represent their interests to government

Monarchy• A monarchy (or kingdom, when ruled by a King or Queen) is a form

of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally embodied in a single individual

• Forms of monarchy differ widely based on the level of legal autonomy the monarch holds, the method of selection of the monarch, and any predetermined limits on the length of their term in office.

• When the monarch has no or few legal restraints in state and political matters, it is called an absolute monarchy and is a form of autocracy. Cases in which the monarch's discretion is formally limited (most common today) are called constitutional monarchies.

• Canada’s government is a Constitutional Monarchy

Totalitarian and Autocracies • Totalitarianism or totalitarian state is a term used to describe a political system in

which the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever possible.

• The concept of totalitarianism was first developed in a positive sense in the 1920s by the Italian fascists.

• The concept became prominent during the Cold War era, in order to highlight perceived similarities between Nazi Germany and other Fascist states on the one hand, and Soviet Communist Party states on the other.

• Autocracies: An autocratic state is a system of government in which all of the power is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints or elections (except perhaps for the threat of a coup d'état or revolution).

Federalism and the Federal system• Canadian federalism is concerned with the nature and historical development of

federal systems within Canada. Canada is a federation with two distinct jurisdictions of political authority: the country-wide federal government and the ten provincial governments.

• It has three territorial governments in the far north that exercise powers under the authority of the Parliament of Canada. All three jurisdictions are linked together by the Canadian Crown, from which all derive their power and authority; each government includes the Queen-in-Parliament, the Queen-in-Council, and the Queen-on-the-Bench.

• The federal parliament and the provincial assemblies are generally independent of one another in their respective areas of legislative authority.

• Shared sectors include agriculture and immigration, but most are either entirely within federal jurisdiction, such as foreign affairs and telecommunications, or entirely within provincial jurisdiction, such as education and healthcare.

Conservatism

• Basic Principles:– Tradition– Social Stability– Society as Functional– Order– All individuals work for the collective good by

fulfilling their role in their social station in the social structure.

Conservatism (cont’d)

• Historical Origin:– 18th Century– Feudal Society

• Role of Government:– Rules in the interest the social order, the interest of the

wealthy– Minimal / modest role for government

Conservatism (cont’d)

• Individual:– subservient to the collective good

• Human Nature:– innate and fixed– must be regulated

Conservatism (cont’d)

• Economic Base:– Agrarian to Capitalist to . . .

• Economic Freedom: High• Economic Equality: Low• Freedom of Thought and Belief: High• Freedom of Expression: Moderate

Conservatism (cont’d)

• Country & Time:– England and Canada: early to late 19th Century

• Writer / Theorist:– William Paley

1743-1805

Classical Liberalism

• Basic Principles:– Supremacy of Individual Liberty and Rights– The greatest good for all results from unrestricted

freedom of the individual– Individual freedom: political, economic– Progress is good, and results from individual

freedom of action

Classical Liberalism (cont’d)

• Competition and struggle for existence amongst all is good

• Each person achieves according to their innate ability

• Meritocracy• Government impedes individual liberty,

personal, political and economic, to the detriment of all

• Modelled on a view of nature as competitive, survival of the fittest

Classical Liberalism (cont’d)

• Historical Origin:– England in the 1830’s

• Role of Government:– Absolute minimum– A negative force– It detracts from the liberty of the individual

Classical Liberalism (cont’d)

• Individual– Should have complete and unrestricted freedom:

political and economic

• Human Nature:– Inherently acts on self-interest and selfishness

Classical Liberalism (cont’d)

• Economic Base:– Industrialization to Capitalism to . . .

• Economic Freedom: Very high• Economic Equality: Very Low• Freedom of Thought and Belief: Very High• Freedom of Expression: Very High

Classical Liberalism (cont’d)

• Country & Time:• England and the U.S. in late 19th Century

• Writer / Theorist:– Adam Smith– Thomas Huxley– William Spencer

Thomas Huxley

1825-1895

Reform Liberalism

• Basic Principles:– Individual freedom must be tempered by

collective action for the improvement of individual and collective welfare

– Progress is good, change is good– Inequalities of opportunity exist in the social

structure, and government should address this to provide equality of opportunity for all

Reform Liberalism (cont’d)

• Historical Origin:– England and North America in the late 19th and early 20th

Century

• Role of Government:– has a positive role in society and the economy– government intervention to regulate and manage the

economy for the wellbeing of all– government intervenes to protect minority rights

Reform Liberalism (cont’d)

• Individual:– a primary value– individual liberty and freedom is important, but

government action is necessary to ensure this for all

• Human Nature:– basically good– government creates social conditions that allow

individuals to flourish

Reform Liberalism (cont’d)

• Economic Base:– Industrial to Capitalist to . . .

• Economic Freedom: High• Economic Equality: Moderate• Freedom of Thought and Belief: Very High• Freedom of Expression: High

Reform Liberalism (cont’d)

• Country & Time:– England and Canada in the early 20th Century

• Writer/Theorist: John Maynard Keynes

1883-1946

Socialism

• Basic Principles:– An economic and class understanding of society– Economic classes have conflicting interests, and

society evolves towards power in the hands of the working class.

– The collective good takes precedence over self-interest of individuals

– Humans are fundamentally social beings and their fulfillment is in social groups

Socialism (cont’d)

• Historical Origin:– England in the 19th Century

• Role of Government:– The government intervenes to prevent economic

exploitation of workers by capitalists– The government manages the economy in the interest of

the citizens to ensure the economic wellbeing of all.– Public or collective ownership over the resources and

infrastructure of the society

Socialism (cont’d)

• Individual– The rights and desires of individuals are

subordinate to the wellbeing and welfare of the majority

• Human Nature:– Humans are fundamentally social beings and their

fulfillment is in social groups

Socialism (cont’d)

• Economic Base:– Industrial– Collective or public ownership of resources and industry

• Economic Freedom: Low• Economic Equality: High• Freedom of Thought and Belief: High• Freedom of Expression: Moderate

Socialism (cont’d)

• Country & Time:– Northern Europe Early 19th Century

• Writer / Theorist: Robert Owen, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Henri de Saint-Simon

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1712-1778

CommunismCommunism

• Basic Principles:– An economic class understanding of society– A determinist understand of an inevitable historical

evolution to a classless society based on the conflict between the working class and the capitalist class

– A strong central government is necessary to impose government control of the resources, industry and productive base of the society in the interests of all

– Totalitarian

Communism (cont’d)

• Historical Origin:– U.S.S.R.

• Role of Government:– highly interventionist in the politics and economy

of the country

In Soviet Russia…

NOTES TAKE YOU!

Communism (cont’d)

• Individual:– individuals are subordinate to the wellbeing and

interests of all

• Human Nature:– Humans are fundamentally social beings and their

fulfillment is in social groups

Stalin

Communism (cont’d)

• Economic Base:– Industrial, sometimes agrarian– State capitalist?

• Economic Freedom: Very Low• Economic Equality: Very High• Freedom of Thought and Belief: Low• Freedom of Expression: Low

Communism (cont’d)

• Country & Time:– U.S.S.R, 1917 - 1991– China, post 1949 (Mao Zedong)

• Writer / Theorist:– Lenin – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels – (co-author’s of communist manifesto)

Note: Divergence between Communism as a philosophy and historical political system

Hearing Lenin

Russian Civil War Era Speech

Russian Ideologist and Communist leader Vladimir Lenin speaking during the Russian Civil War (1918-1922)

Fascism

• Basic Principles:– An ultra-conservative and ultra-nationalist approach to

social structure– The good social order is achieved by a totalitarian state

that manages society and the economy towards military and state power

– Complete government and state regulation of individuals’ rights and the economy in the interest of the state

– Glorification of a past ideal time and military power

• Adolf Hitler

http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/Adolf_Hitler_walking_out_of_Brown_House_after_1930_elections.jpg

Fascism (cont’d)

• Historical Origin:– Italy in the 1920’s– Germany in the 1930’s

• Role of Government:– The government is the supreme power in society,

and directs the political and economic system in the interest of the fascist state

http://sharonweinberger.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/mind_control.gif

Fascism (cont’d)

• Individual:– The individual is completely subordinate to the

interests of the state

• Human Nature:– human fulfillment is found in serving the interests

of the fascist state

Fascism (cont’d)

• Economic Base:– Industrial and capitalist– Capitalist production is directed by the state for the

interests of the state

• Economic Freedom: Low• Economic Equality: Low• Freedom of Thought and Belief: Low• Freedom of Expression: Very Low

Fascism (cont’d)

• Country & Time:– Italy in the 1920s and 1930s– Germany in the 1930s

• Writer / Theorist:

Benito Mussolini

Hitler’s Beer hall Speech

Footage taken from a movie depicting Hitler speaking to a crowded Munich beer hall, typical of his early

methods of spreading his ideals.

That’s It !!!