Eastern Star Academy, Inc.

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Grade Level: Grade 11 Learning Modality: Modular Distance Learning

Subject: PHILIPPINE POLITICS Subject Teacher: Mara Janella A. Francisco, LPT
AND GOVERNANCE

Content Standards:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of politics and political science, governance,
political ideologies, power, states, nations, and globalization.
Performance Standard:
1. Clearly identify a specific political phenomenon and how it can be studied.
Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs):
1. Differentiate the political ideologies
Duration: Week 2-3 (Sept 11 – Sept 25), 6 hours

LESSON 2: Differentiate the Political Ideologies

Learning objectives:
1. Define ideology and political ideologies
2. Identify the different characteristics of ideology
3. Identify the different political ideologies and its functions
4. Differentiate the political ideologies

Introduction:
Abstract Ideology has re-emerged as an important topic of inquiry among social,
personality, and political psychologists. In this review, we examine recent theory and
research concerning the structure, contents, and functions of ideological belief systems.
We begin by defining the construct and placing it in historical and philosophical context.
We then examine different perspectives on how many (and what types of) dimensions
individuals use to organize their political opinions. We investigate (a) how and to what
extent individuals acquire the discursive contents associated with various ideologies, and
(b) the social-psychological functions that these ideologies serve for those who adopt
them. Our review highlights “elective affinities” between situational and dispositional
needs of individuals and groups and the structure and contents of specific ideologies.
Finally, we consider the consequences of ideology, especially with respect to attitudes,
evaluations, and processes of system justification.
 ACTIVITY # 1 DISCOVER
Instruction: Based on your knowledge about the Political Ideologies, Write what you have known
about the following:

IDEOLOGY SOCIALISM LIBERALISM

Anarchism Absolutism Liberalism

Conservatism
 WHAT IS AN IDEOLOGY?
Ideology has been dubbed “the most elusive concept in the whole of social science” 308
Jost · Federico · Napier Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2009.60:307-337. Downloaded from
arjournals.annualreviews.org by NEW YORK UNIVERSITY - BOBST LIBRARY on
12/16/08. For personal use only. ANRV364-PS60-12 ARI 27 October 2008 16:17
(McLellan 1986, p. 1). Its practitioners have been accused, with more than a little justice,
of “semantic promiscuity” (Gerring 1997, p. 957; see also Converse 1964, p. 207). Many
scholars address the definitional challenge by listing the plethora of definitions that exist
in the literature, in the hope that the target can be discerned from the pattern of firing
(e.g., Gerring 1997, pp. 958–959; Jost 2006, p. 653; Lane 1962, pp. 13–14). Because
space is precious, we eschew this strategy, tempting though it is. Basic Definitions We
are inclined to begin instead with a simple, general, and hopefully uncontroversial
textbook definition of political ideology, such as that offered by Erikson & Tedin (2003),
namely a “set of beliefs about the proper order of society and how it can be achieved” (p.
64; see also Adorno et al. 1950, Campbell et al. 1960/1965, Kerlinger 1984). Denzau &
North (1994/2000) suggest something similar, except that they also highlight the role of
social groups or collectivities (see also Parsons 1951): “ideologies are the shared
framework of mental models that groups of individuals possess that provide both an
interpretation of the environment and a prescription as to how that environment should be
structured” (p. 24). If one accepts that ideology is shared, that it helps to interpret the
social world, and that it normatively specifies (or requires) good and proper ways of
addressing life’s problems, then it is easy to see how ideology reflects and reinforces
what psychologists might refer to as relational, epistemic, and existential needs or
motives ( Jost et al. 2008a). These are the major sources of elective affinities that we
focus on in this review. Specific ideologies crystallize and communicate the widely (but
not unanimously) shared beliefs, opinions, and values of an identifiable group, class,
constituency, or society (Freeden 2001, Knight 2006). Ideologies also endeavor to
describe or interpret the world as it is—by making assertions or assumptions about
human nature, historical events, present realities, and future possibilities—and to envision
the world as it should be, specifying acceptable means of attaining social, economic, and
political ideals. To the extent that different ideologies represent socially shared but
competing philosophies of life and how it should be lived (and how society should be
governed), it stands to reason that different ideologies should both elicit and express at
least somewhat different social, cognitive, and motivational styles or tendencies on the
part of their adherents (see also Jost 2006)
a :  a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture
b :  a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture
c :  the integrated assertions, theories and aims that constitute a socio-political program
d : is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides the basis for organized political
action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of
power.
A political ideology is a set of ideas, beliefs, values, and opinions, exhibiting a recurring
pattern, that competes deliberately as well as unintentionally over providing plans of
action for public policy making in an attempt to justify, explain, contest, or change the
social and political arrangements and processes of a political community. The concept of
ideology is subject to partly incompatible conceptual interpretations. The Marxist tradition
views it pejoratively as distorted consciousness, reflecting an exploitative material reality,
that can be overcome through unmasking; or, more recently, as a fictitious narrative
necessary to maintaining the social order. Non-Marxist approaches split into three
perspectives. The first sees ideology as abstract, closed and doctrinaire, largely
impervious to empirical evidence and superimposed on a society. The second sees
ideology as a series of empirically ascertainable attitudes towards political issues that can
be explored by means of behavioral methods. The third views ideologies as
indispensable mapping devices of cultural symbols and political concepts that constitute a
crucial resource for understanding and shaping sociopolitical life. They compete over the
‘correct’ and legitimate meanings of political words and ideas, and by means of that
control, over the high ground of politics.

Different Political Ideologies

Over the millennia, political philosophers have expounded on a variety of political
ideologies, or ways governments and societies can be organized. Today, scholars
generally talk about five major political ideologies:

 Anarchism
 Absolutism
 Liberalism
 Conservatism
 Socialism
These political ideologies are, for the most part, mutually exclusive. So, a liberal
government does not usually practice socialism, nor does an absolute ruler follow
liberalism. The five major political ideologies have played a key role in history by
shaping governments and political movements.
Anarchism
The belief that the best government is absolutely no government is known as Anarchism.
This ideology argues that everything about governments is repressive and therefore must
be abolished entirely. A related ideology known as Nihilism emphasizes that everything—
both government and society—must be periodically destroyed in order to start anew.
Nihilists often categorically reject traditional concepts of morality in favor of violence and
terror. Anarchism and nihilism were once associated with socialism because many
anarchists and nihilists supported the socialists’ call for revolution and the complete
overhaul of government and society in the early to mid-twentieth century.
Example: Although neither violent nor strictly anarchist, members of the American
Libertarian Party believe that government should be so small that it hardly ever interferes
in citizens’ lives, thereby best preserving individual liberty.
Russia
Russia has had a long association with anarchism and nihilism. Many prominent
members of both movements were Russian, including Mikhail Bakunin, considered the
father of anarchism. Russian nihilists engaged in a number of terrorist attacks in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the assassination of Czar Alexander II
in 1881.

Absolutism
Traditionally, much of Western civilization’s history was dominated by Absolutism, the
belief that a single ruler should have control over every aspect of the government and of
the people’s lives. Absolute rulers had a variety of titles, including chieftain, king, shah,
pharaoh, emperor, sultan, and prince. In some cultures, the absolute ruler was seen as a
god in human form. Other peoples believed that their ruler had the Divine Right Of Kings,
meaning that God had chosen the ruler to govern the rest. As a result, many cultures with
absolute rulers practiced some form of Caesaropapism, the belief that the ruler is head of
both the governmental authority and the religious authority.

Example: In the Byzantine Empire, the double-headed eagle symbolized caesaropapism.

The two heads stood for church and state. This symbol clearly and graphically portrayed
the unity of religious and secular power in one person.
Advocates Of Absolutism
A number of political philosophers have advocated absolutism. The Greek philosopher
Plato, for example, firmly believed that the best government would be run by a benevolent
absolute ruler who would have the people’s best interests at heart. English philosopher
Thomas Hobbes, meanwhile, was perhaps the most persuasive proponent of absolutism.
In his book Leviathan (1651), he argued that life without governments was “nasty, brutish,
and short” and that people must willingly submit to absolute rulers—even tyrannical ones
—in order to live longer, more stable lives.
LIBERALISM
Perhaps the most important of the new ideas is Liberalism (also known as Classical
Liberalism). This type of liberalism, which began in England in the 1600s, differs from
American liberalism. Classical liberalism developed when such thinkers as John Locke (in
his Second Treatise of Government in 1690) rethought the relationship between the
individual and society, as well theorized about the rights and responsibilities of the
individual. These ideas formed the foundation for many political systems still operating
today.
During the French Revolution (1789–1799), the monarchy and much of the church were
destroyed, as were traditional laws and habits in different parts of the country. The
revolutionaries exalted reason, to the point of literally creating a temple to it (the
revolutionaries renamed the Church of Notre Dame in Paris “the Temple of Reason”) in
1793. But as a result of the revolution, France plunged into years of civil war and
violence. Only the emergence of Napoleon—an authoritarian ruler—brought stability back
to the country.
Liberalism emphasizes:
Individualism: The individual takes priority over society.
Freedom: Individuals have the right to make choices for themselves. This freedom is not
absolute, and some behaviors, such as murder, are prohibited. Freedom of religion is a
particularly important freedom to come out of liberalism because so many governments at
the time were very closely tied to a particular religious creed.
Equality: No person is morally or politically superior to others. Hierarchies are rejected.
Rationalism: Humans are capable of thinking logically and rationally. Logic and reason
help us solve problems.
Progress: Traditions should not be kept unless they have value. New ideas are helpful
because they can lead to progress in the sciences, the economy, and society.
The Free Market: Liberalism and capitalism go hand in hand. Liberals like the free market
because it more easily creates wealth, as opposed to traditional economies, which often
have extensive regulations and limits on which occupations people can hold.
These basic characteristics of liberalism have led liberals to argue in favor of a limited
government, which draws its power from the people. In practice, this has meant favoring
a democratic government.

CONSERVATISM
Conservatism (also known as Classical Conservatism) began as a reaction against the
liberal ideas taking hold of Europe during the French Revolution in the late eighteenth
century. This type of conservatism differs from American conservatism. Edmund Burke, a
British member of Parliament, observed the early stages of the French Revolution with
great distress and predicted the violence and terror that would ensue. His book,
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), is one of the founding texts of classical
conservatism.

Burke and other conservatives attacked liberalism for many reasons. They argued that
liberalism destroyed tradition. In its rush to overturn the old and bring in the new,
liberalism and capitalism ruthlessly attacked traditional institutions and beliefs.
Conservative Beliefs
Conservatism emphasizes:

Stability: Stability is a precious thing, and change must be made gradually in order to
preserve it. Undermining stability is very dangerous because societies can easily fall into
chaos and violence. Classical liberals frequently called for revolution, which opens the
door to great turbulence, according to the classical conservative view.
Concreteness: Liberalism is too abstract. It focuses on freedom and equality, not on the
concrete way people live every day.
Human Fallibility: Liberalism overestimates human beings. Humans are frequently
ignorant, prejudiced, and irrational. By ignoring these defects, liberalism becomes
unrealistic.
Unique Circumstances: There is no universal answer to the problems of society; the
circumstances are unique in each country.

Classical Conservatism and Democracy

Many early conservatives favored authoritarian government. In the aftermath of the

Napoleonic Wars (roughly 1792–1815), for example, most European governments
actively worked to stop the spread of liberalism and democracy. Nevertheless,
conservatives were not necessarily hostile to democracy. Generally these conservatives
argued that some sort of monarchy was necessary, but some were more open to popular
government. Burke, in particular, thought that limited democracy was a good form of
government for England, as long as it maintained the customs and mores it inherited from
its predecessors.
Classical Conservatism Today
For the most part, classical conservatism has faded. Most people who label themselves
conservatives are more like American conservatives than classical ones. But there are
still some classical conservatives. Many of them in Europe have ties to old noble families,
and some advocate monarchism. Classical conservatives can also be found in other parts
of the world.

The chart below compares classical liberal views with classical conservative views on
several issues.
ISSUE LIBERALISM CONSERVATISM
  TRADITION  Only valuable if it  Repository of
serves a purpose; acquired wisdom;
we should not be collection of best
 FREEDOM afraid to overturn knowledge from
tradition. many years of
 Essential for human practice
flourishing; people  Excessive freedom
are free to do as is bad; lets people
they please as long ignore societal
as they do not hurt responsibilities and
 REASON others. overlook social
customs.
 Relies on reason;
the great success of  Thinks reason is
the scientific fallible and prone to
revolution can be error; human beings
repeated in human cannot discover the
affairs if we use best way to govern
reason through thinking.
Instead, we must
base our judgments
and decisions on
 FREE MARKET experience.

 Dangerous because
 Valuable because it it breaks down
unleashes traditional economic
tremendous roles. The profit
economic growth motive corrodes
and efficiency, customary mores
enriching society and reduces all
relationships to cash
transactions.

SOCIALISM
Socialism arose as a response to the Industrial Revolution, which was the emergence of
technologies such as the steam engine and mass production. The Industrial Revolution
started in England in the last years of the eighteenth century and had spread to much of
Europe and America by the end of the nineteenth century. It caused major upheavals: In
a very short time, many people were forced to abandon agricultural ways of life for the
modern mechanized world of factories.

Early versions of socialism were put forward in Europe in the first part of the nineteenth
century (these versions are often dubbed “utopian socialism”), but truly influential socialist
theories did not emerge until industrialization expanded in the mid-nineteenth century.
Karl Marx is the best-known theorist of socialism. Along with Friedrich Engels, Marx wrote
The Communist Manifesto (1848) as a call to revolution. Other prominent socialists
thinkers included Karl Kautsky, Vladimir Lenin, and Antonio Gramsci.

Socialist Beliefs
Socialism emphasizes:
Collectivism: Human beings are social by nature, and society should respect this.
Individualism is poisonous.
Public Ownership: Society, not individuals, should own the property.
Central Economic Planning: The government plans the economy; there is no free market.
Economic Equality: All citizens have roughly the same level of prosperity.
Class Warfare
According to socialists, liberalism fails to live up to its promises of freedom and equality.
Socialists blame the free market for liberalism’s failings. Under a capitalist system, money
and means of production are the measures of power. The haves (the bourgeoisie, in
Marx’s terms) and the have-nots (whom Marx calls the proletariat) are locked into a fight
that Marx called class warfare. Because they control the money and means of production,
the bourgeoisie have the power and thus are winning the fight. The rich use the
government to further their control and to increase their power over the lower, poorer
classes, so people are neither free nor equal.
The Evolution of Socialism
Socialism evolved in a variety of ways. Communism and democratic socialism are the two
most prominent evolutions of socialism.

Communism: An authoritarian and revolutionary approach to achieving socialism. As an

ideology, communism emphasizes a classless society in which all members jointly share
the means and output of production. The regimes of the Soviet Union and communist
China embody this ideology. Communists such as Vladimir Lenin, who became the first
premier of the Soviet Union in 1917, argued that people can and must make the transition
to socialism quickly rather than waiting for it to evolve. Authoritarian and violent measures
are often required because the defenders of capitalism will fight ferociously to stop
socialism from coming into being.
Communism Today
With the fall of communist regimes in Russia and Eastern Europe, communism has been
in retreat for most of the 1990s and 2000s. There are, for example, fewer communist
movements around the world than during the Cold War. But there are still several major
communist regimes, including the governments of North Korea and Cuba.
Democratic Socialism: A peaceful and democratic approach to achieving socialism. As
an ideology, democratic socialism also emphasizes a classless society in which all
members jointly share the means and output of production. But unlike communism,
democratic socialism attempts to achieve its goals peacefully via the democratic
processes. Democratic socialists reject the need for immediate transition to socialism in
favor of a gradualist approach, achieved by working within a democratic government.
Economic inequalities should be remedied through a Welfare State, a system that
provides aid to the poor and help to the unemployed.
Democratic Socialism Today

Democratic socialism has been quite successful in western Europe and Scandinavia.
Many governments there have extensive welfare systems that have remained largely
intact even when democratic socialists are voted out of office. Dem-ocratic socialist
parties exist in many democracies around the world. Germany’s Social Democratic Party
and Britain’s Labor Party are contemporary examples of successful political parties
heavily influenced by democratic socialism.

DEEPEN
Activity 2
Identifying Political Ideologies:
Match the following political ideologies with the corresponding definition.
Democracy, Liberal Democracy, Illiberal Democracy, Social Democracy,
Communism, Fascism, Anarchy, Authoritarianism
1. _____________________________ A representative government with majority
rule and minority rights, with an emphasis on constitutionalism and rule of law, and the
protection of individual liberties.

2. _____________________________ A political system in which unlimited authority

is given to the elites of the state, citizens are unified around a shared belief, and all
means of production are for the state's benefit.

3. _____________________________ The government and state is completely

replaced by the free will of the individual.

4. _____________________________ A system that believes in a free market

capitalist democracy that is regulated for the public good. There are also ample welfare
services to protect the poor.
5. _____________________________ A system in which elections take place for a
representative government, but elected politicians may erode rule of law and individual
rights.

6. _____________________________ An unelected, centralized system governed

by a single political party in which political rights are restricted and the means of
production are collectively owned.

7. _____________________________ A centralized system that lacks political

competition, meaningful checks on executive power, and political freedoms for citizens.

8. _____________________________ A political system in which power is vested in

and exercised by the country's citizens.

DEMONSTRATE-
Activity 3
Instruction: Differentiate the Political Ideologies:
 Absolutism Liberalism
Anarchism Conservatism Socialism

JOURNAL
Name: __________________________ Topic: __________________________
Subject: _________________________ Week #: ____________________
Write your realization, understandings, and all things you’ve learned and
experienced in accomplishing the module. Write legibly.

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Parent’s/ Guardian’s Signature: __________________

Teacher’s Feedback:
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