1. Ideas to Actions
 Andrew Levin, MS
 2/16/12

2. Ideologies
Ideologies are not static or set in
stone. They respond to political
events, as much as they affect
political events.

3. History of modern ideologies
 Classical liberalism rose in the Enlightenment.
Important thinkers:
 John Locke
 Adam Smith
 de Montesquieu
 Rousseau
 The framers of the Declaration of Independence
 and, later, John Stuart Mill
 The U.S. is a classical liberal democracy.

4. Ideologies, continued
 Conservative thought arose in response to the
excesses of the French Revolution of 1789.
Important thinker: Edmund Burke.
 In the U.S., conservative thought also blended
with classical liberalism.

5. Ideologies, continued
 In the 19th century, socialism, communism and
anarchism were responses to the economic
distresses brought by industrial capitalism.

6. Ideologies, continued
 Fascism and its most extreme form, Nazism,
developed in the early 20th century as a
reaction against the perceived failings of
liberalism, conservatism, socialism and
communism.

7. Ideologies, continued
 New ideologies emerge in response to new
needs. Developing out of (and in reaction to)
liberalism in late 20th century were:
 Environmentalism
 Postmodernism
 Feminism

8. Classical liberalism – key ideas
 Human beings are rational and equal
 Small & limited government is best
 Government rules with the consent of the
governed
 Individual rights important:
 tolerance of dissent & freedom of conscience
 free marketplace
 ideal of political equality & democratic process

9. Absolute despotism
once had to be accepted
 Before classical liberalism, the dominant idea
was that God created political society, not
people.
 Monarchs ruled through divine right.
 If people suffered under a bad king, it was
God’s will. Disobeying a bad king was a sin;
killing a bad king was regicide.
 Therefore, people had a duty to accept and
obey (view of Robert Filmer).

10. John Locke
View of the state of nature (pre-civil society)
2. Human beings are rational, free & equal.
They are capable of running their own lives.
3. They have rights to life, health, liberty and
possessions that no one should harm.
4. Yet there are no mechanisms (no police, no
courts, etc.) to ensure that the strong do not
prey upon the weak.

11. John Locke, continued
 To secure their rights, therefore, people give
up some freedom and form government. The
government’s purpose is to protect rights. It is
a type of contract.
 The people retain their sovereignty, and the
government is just a mechanism to help them.
The individual is superior to the government.

12. John Locke, continued
 If government fails to protect those rights and
becomes tyrannical, then the contract is null
and void. The government loses its
legitimacy, and people are free to make a new
government. [The Second Treatise on
Government]
 Called a “right of revolution.”

13. Adam Smith
His famous work, The Wealth of Nations,
provides the theoretical basis for capitalism.
What makes him liberal?

14. Adam Smith, continued
 The emphasis on rationality, the ability of
individuals to make decisions to advance their
own self-interest. The idea that government
should leave people alone to make their own
economic choices.
 In fact, individual selfish choices would serve
the common good through the invisible hand
of the market.

15. Locke & Smith on Equality
 Their view was that people in the state of
nature are equal in their rights, but not in their
talents or their wealth.
 Economic inequality is not necessarily unfair,
since it is based on people’s free choices.
 Freedom to make choices is a higher value
than equality.

16. Evolution of liberalism
 The result was laissez faire capitalism.
Terrible economic & social conditions for
workers, including children. Government
powerless to act.
 Led to rethinking liberalism. A good society
might need more than right procedures. It also
needed certain outcomes.

17. Evolution, continued
 The philosophy of Utilitarianism emerged.
Governments should pursue policies that
create the greatest good (or utility) for the
greatest number of people.
 This utility calculation would provide a
rational guideline for government policy.

18. Further developments
 After utilitarianism (which never caught on in
the U.S.), liberalism developed into Social
Justice or Modern Liberalism.
 Modern liberalism is not fearful of government
power. Instead, government power can be a
force for good, limiting the worst conditions of
poverty, illiteracy, racism, exploitation, etc.
 The basis of progressive or liberal politics in
the U.S.

19. An activist view of government
 Jane Addams (1860-1935)
 Founded Hull House to serve
the poor in Chicago in 1889.
Pushed for laws to improve
working and living
conditions for the poor.
Promoted government action
in education, better
sanitation, & women’s
right to vote.

20. Evolution to modern liberalism
 Key thinker:
J.S. Mill
(1806-1873)
He worked also with
his wife &
intellectual partner
Harriet Taylor Mill
(1807-1858)

21. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
 English political theorist
 Wrote this book in 1859
 Also wrote a book in favor of women’s rights
 He is considered a bridge between classical
liberalism and modern liberalism

22. John Stuart Mill
 “The most influential English-speaking philosopher
of the 19th century. His views are of continuing
significance, and are generally recognized to be
among the deepest and certainly the most effective
defenses of … a liberal political view of society. The
overall aim of his philosophy is to develop a positive
view of the universe …which contributes to the
progress of human knowledge, individual freedom
and human well-being.”
 From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

23. On Liberty
 Mill argues that diversity in ideas and in
conduct is a good thing, one that society ought
to encourage, not discourage.
 He especially defends freedom of thought and
discussion. "We can never be sure that the
opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false
opinion, and if we were sure, stifling it would
be an evil still."

24. The value of freedom of thought
 The opinion may be true. We are not
infallible.
 The opinion may be partly true, and the truth
can only emerge after free and full debate.
 The opinion may be false, but debate is still
valuable because it keeps our views from
becoming dead dogma or rigid biases.

25. From “On Liberty”
 “The sole end for which mankind are
warranted, individually or collectively... in
interfering with the liberty of action of any of
their number, is self-protection."

26. From “On Liberty”
 Society can interfere, but for one reason only:
to stop harm to others. Society may protect
itself and other individuals.
 But society may NOT interfere in order to
protect us from our own bad choices.
 So, does a behavior affect others? Or only
ourselves?

27. Mill and Foreign Policy
 Would Mill have agreed with U.S. military
intervention to throw out a dictator and help
establish a democracy? Or as is being
discussed with Syria, arming opposition
militias with heavy weaponry?

28. Mill and Foreign Policy
“I am not aware that any community has a right
to force another to be civilized. So long as the
sufferers by the bad law do not invoke
assistance from other communities, I cannot
admit that persons entirely unconnected with
them ought to step in...”
So probably NO [depends on the meaning of
“invoke assistance.”]

29. Which brings us to Non-Western
Ideologies
Like the American colonists, many “wars of
liberation” are routed in Locke’s concepts of
individual freedoms.
E.g. Latin America, Indonesia

30. Liberalism, Consequences
Land Reform
Removal of Religion
Introduction of welfare-state policies (positive
liberalism)

31. Conservatism in the Developing
World
Worry about effects of equality on the “social
fabric”
Worry about pace of change
Like the status quo or the perceived past

32. Authoritarianism maybe an
outgrowth of Conservatism
The textbook suggests that the Peruvian tradition
of authoritarianism has been a tradition since
pre-colonial times.
Even under democratic elections, Nigeria is still
controlled by arranged presidential “power
shifts” by a small oliogarchy.
Is this protecting the “social fabric”?

33. Authoritariansim, cont.
In Peru, there may be a case for this. President
Fujimori’s strong-hand stemmed terrorism and
allowed Peruvians to better have freedoms.
However, you better not get in Fujimori’s way
even as a bystander!
In Nigeria, it is about providing just enough
stability to continue cronyism among
oliogarchical elite.

34. Conservatism-Extremism
Governments and organizations may be
fundamentalist in nature (sometimes a
transformation of anti-colonial, anti-West
sentiment)
E.g. Iran, Taliban in Afghanistan,
evangelical Christians in Uganda

35. Tempering Extremism
Anti-terrorism, Direct Attack
E.g. China strict control of ‘dissidents’
Negotiations
E.g. Aceh – Indonesia Peace Treaty
Activism through Democracy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12298018

36. Socialism in the Developing
World
Very popular model after colonial
independence…Remember it was the Cold
War!
Class-based struggle (Proletariat and the
Bourgeosie) transformed into colonists against
the colonized
E.g. Indonesia, Angola, Vietnam, China

37. Democratic Socialism
Socialism with a social agenda of education and
literacy (1970s Africa)
National in scope, little care about international
revolution
And they did not like the World Bank nor the
International Monetary Fund

38. Ujamma (Brotherhood) Villages
of Tanzania in the 1970s
Forced resettlement of pastoralists and very rural
subsistence farmers (5 million)
Created to distribute education, clinics, clean
water, electricity, and access to better farming
equipment
Also, meant to prevent Peru-style landlessness
Can you think of a case study country that tried
collectivization? Do you think this worked?

39. It failed
James C. Scott in “See like a State” explains:
Mono-crop required expert advice
Farmers focused on their other private holdings
Like China’s “Great Leap Forward” local
official exagerated crop yields & did not share
power

40. Facism
Beyond Nazism, facism is an ideology of
division and hierarchy.
Human Rights can be violated for those deemed
inferior and liberties denied for all but the
small authoritarian elite.

41. Facism Propaganda
Integral to regimes such as Pinochet’s in Chile

42. Anarchists
Proponents of voluntary cooperation and free
association
Puerto Rican Luisa Capetillo used this increase
women’s role in labor unions
Do not like the World Trade Organization nor
the G-20

43. Political Culture-Civic Culture
Participant
Subject
Parochial
By Gabriel Almond & Sidney Verba

44. Identities
Populist Movements, concept of nationalism
Why might this be very common in China,
harder to accomplish in Nigeria?

45. Identities, continued
China is generally ethnically/linguistically
homogenous.
Nigeria is very heterogenous
So in these places other cleavages are also very
important, such as…

46. Other Identitites
Geography
Religion: Secular or Theocracy
Founders of Islamism, or political Islam, were
often New Elite.
AKP in Turkey is more interested in stronger
democracy than religion.
Taliban is extreme Islamism

47. Liberation Ideology
Started in Peru by Gustavo Gutierrez
Social Praxis over Orthodoxy
Collective Sin
Poverty is caused by structures, not
individual “laziness or bad luck” and we must
all do our part to help alleviate it.

48. Gender
Feminism challenges notions of “correct” female
and male behavior
Mexico has long been a feminist leader
Motherist Activism in Brazil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ebkmo1Ygz8
Can a veil a political symbol?

49. Other Identities
Union membership
Party Affiliation
You! (College Students)

50. New Media
The Internet has been a tool of proponents of all
the ideologies
From Arab Spring (positive liberalism) to the
“Great Fire Wall” (authoritarian socialism)

51. Focus on Weapons of the Weak
Music/Television
Fela Kuti:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU-dV7LZ4jo
Youssou N’Dour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU9x0PK9Re8&
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU9x0PK9Re8
Telenovelas have even been part Brazilian’s
women’s efforts for reproductive rights (N.G.)

52. Weapons of the Weak, cont.
Rumors
Mandate of Heaven:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjqdq-GG-RQ
Self-Mutilation/Suicide?
Suicide-Gate, from a Chinese perspective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWFsMlRyJ7Q