POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES AND PARTIES

7. DEMOCRACY: RULE BY THE PEOPLE

• First practiced by the ancient Greeks- all citizens voted on all decisions that affected society = direct democracy• Today we have representative

democracies - elected representatives make decisions on our behalf. • The main principles of democracy are

equality and freedom.

Left Wing Center Right Wing Violent revolution to

overthrow unjust capitalistic system

No private property No class system=all

equal Community State Control of

community

Exists in China, Cuba, North Korea

Social Services: Medicare and Pensions, EI, Welfare

Higher personal and corporate taxes

Change oriented socially conscious

Not bound by tradition Worker Rights and Union

Rights More government

involvement society as a whole, rather

than individuals own and manage the economy for the good of everyone in society.

 Socialism developed when capitalism was causing great social harm and poverty was widespread. (IR)

Socialists believe that government should control important parts of the economy and major industries (crown corporations).

• Political Party: NDP

•Moderate, flexible•Adapts to changing society•Open minded•Equality=rights•Individual vs. societal rights•Change for Society’s good•Political Party: LIberal

•Lower taxes=more spending•Tradition, censorhip, morality•Law and order•Capitalism-individual profit vs. societal profit•Laissez faire (hands-off) approach to the economy•Less Government involvement•Increased spending for military•Fewer taxes for big corporation (business interests) will improve economy•More military, policing for law and order•Political Party: Conservatives

•Aggressively militaristic•Control freedom of speech and censor media•State(nation)>individual

•Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany

Communism

FascistsConservatism

LiberalismSocialism

NDP Liberals Conservatives

More individualMore group/GOVERNMENT

10. THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM• It is a visual to illustrate how various

political ideologies relate to one another. Where do you stand on the political spectrum? http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz

9. CANADIAN PARTIES AND IDEOLOGY

• The major political parties in Canada cluster around the center of the political spectrum.

CANADIAN PARTIES AND IDEOLOGY

• You cannot equate the Liberal Party too closely with liberalism, nor the Conservative Party with conservatism.• For example, the Liberals adopted some of the

policies of socialists such as universal healthcare and places less emphasis on the military and more support for arts and culture.

GOOD LINKS

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/politicalbeliefs/http://vimeo.com/462252

“-ISMS” Socialism: You have two cows. Give one cow to your neighbour. Communism: You have two cows. Give both cows to the government and they may give you some of the milk. Fascism: You have two cows. You give all of the milk to the government, and the government sells it. Nazism: You have two cows. The government shoots you and takes both cows. Anarchism: You have two cows. Keep both of the cows, shoot the government agent, and steal another cow. Capitalism: You have two cows. Sell one cow and buy a bull. Surrealism: You have two giraffes. The government makes you take harmonica lessons.   Look up the definitions for socialism and communism. Do the “fun” definitions above help you to better understand the concepts? Why/why not?

SAMPLE PROVINCIAL QUESTION

Which pair of ideologies best describes Canadian government practices throughoutthe 20th century?A. socialism and fascismB. communism and socialismC. liberalism and communismD. liberalism and conservatism

SAMPLE PROVINCIAL QUESTION

Use the following political spectrum to answer the question.  Left Wing V W X Y Z Right Wing

What political ideology is located at letter V on the political spectrum?A. fascismB. socialismC. liberalismD. communism

Proposition Left or RightAgree or Disagree

1. Marijuana possession should be decriminalized.

   

2. Canada should admit less immigrants and refugees.

   

3. Capital punishment should be an option for some crimes.

   

4. Taxes should be lowered even though this may mean increased cuts to government programs

   

5. The government should make stricter laws against private ownership of firearms.

   

6. People should be charged user fees every time they are hospitalized.

   

7. The government should spend more money on programs for the poor and disadvantaged.

   

8. Canada should expand its free trade agreement to include more blocs of countries such as Asia or Latin America.

   

9. Tuition costs for post-secondary education should be lowered or eliminated to allow equal opportunity for all.

   

10. Governments should strengthen preferential hiring treatment for minorities and women.

   

You may have heard people call themselves “left-wing” or “right-wing”. These terms refer to an individual’s political beliefs or stance. Read through the following political propositions and identify whether each is a left-wing or right-wing concept. Afterwards, go back and identify the propositions with which you agree. This will give you some idea whether you can classify yourself as left or right wing.Based on this questionnaire, are you left-wing or right-wing? ____________________________.

If you agreed with an equal amount of left and right propositions, you are likely “moderate” or “centrist”.

SAMPLE PROVINCIAL QUESTION

Which of the following statements is representative of a liberal ideology?A. Military funding is a major priorityB. A nation’s wealth should be equally distributed among its citizensC. Private business and property are tightly regulated by governmentD. Government spending ensures that all citizens have access to the basic necessities.

SAMPLE PROVINCIAL EXAM QUESTION

Which political party would most likely promote an increase in military spending?•A. Green Party•B. Liberal Party•C. Conservative Party•D. New Democratic Party