Prelims

Politics
Definitions:

• It is a process by which decisions are made within

groups. Although the term is generally applied to
behavior within governments, politics is observed in all
human (and many non-human) group interactions,
including corporate, academic, and religious
institutions.
• The art and science of governance; the means by
which the will of the community is arrived at and
implemented; the activities of a government, politician,
or political party.
• In its broadest sense, it is about individuals living
together in a certain kind of order and under its given
authority.
• Education is an important aspect of politics, for one of
its aims is to see that those educated contribute, rather
than destroy, the order of the society.

Scope of Politics:

1. Domestic Politics
2. International Politics

Can we avoid politics?

Is politics all dirty?

• Political Solution – a settlement arrived at

through negotiations and compromise
amongst conflicting individuals or groups –
processes which are reality of politics.
Alternative definitions of politics have been proposed that
fulfill the needs of differing perspectives. They include:

• Dictionary defines, "the art and science of government".

• Textbook definitions, notably, a "process of conflict
resolution in which support is mobilized and maintained
for collective projects".
• Theorists, such as Harold Lasswell, who defined politics
as "who gets what, when, where, and how."
• and Practitioners like:
o Mao Zedong, who said "Politics is war without
bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."
o Otto Von Bismarck's cryptic remark, "Politics is the
art of the possible."
o Jovito Salonga defines as simply the capacity to
say no to something dangerous and inimical to the
public interest.

Are Statesmen and Politicians the same?

• A statesman is a person whose main preoccupation is
the betterment of the state and its governed society. –
To accomplish this, he must be adept at the art of
politics; that is to negotiate, persuade, and make
compromise. – He is a politician who puts affairs of the
state above his other interest; he rule for the sake of the
state.
• A politician is a person who uses their power to rule
others solely to serve their own interests.
IMAGES OF POLITICS:
1. BOARD ROOM (BORO) – business elites
2. BUREAUCRATIC – cabinet secretaries
3. CONGRESS
4. CHIEF EXECUTIVE – either local or national
5. COURT ROOM – the judiciary
6. MULTI MEDIA
7. FAITH BASED
8. GAMES OF THE GENERALS
9. CIVIL SOCIETY
10.XMEN

Political science - is the study of political behavior and

examines the acquisition and application of power.

- is an academic and research discipline that deals with

the theory and practice of politics and the description and
analysis of political systems and political behavior.
 THE ISMS OF POLITICS

POLITICAL IDEALISM – is the kind of politics that tells

us in detail what is right.
- It is the law of our being by which we desire what
is right.

10 Point prescriptions on effective political leadership –

Niccolo Machiavelli.
1. The good prince must avoid despicable and hated.
2. The best fortress for a state and its prince is the
love of the people.
3. It is safer to be feared than loved, but it is best to be
feared as well as to be loved.
4. The good prince should abstain from taking the
property of others, for men forget more easily the
death of their father, than the loss of their
patrimony.
5. It is better to trust in your power than in the
goodwill of others.
6. Legislate good laws and back them with good arms.
7. Laws are the ways of men and force is the way of
the beasts, but you cannot rely on law only.
8. Imitate the fox and the lion. The fox is the shrewd
and cunning, the lion is strong and brave. If you
want to be one or the other, it is better to be a fox.
9. Do not put your trust on mercenaries, for they can
easily be bought by your adversaries.
10. Be prudent. Prudence is the ability of knowing,
the nature of difficulties and making that, which is
least harmful as good.
POLITICAL REALISM – ‘if you want to survive, even be
successful, start by studying how people behave, not
how they ought to behave”.

POLITICAL RATIONALISM – Reason uses next the idea

of freedom. Reason teaches all mankind who will but
consult it, that being equal and independent, no one
ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or
possessions.

POLITICAL EXTREMISM – the reality of today is the

reality forever.
- Believes that the world is sub divided.
LANGUAGES OF POLITICS:
What is power?

- comes from the Latin term potere meaning to be able.

- It is being able, physically, intellectually, or a combination of both to achieve
what one wants.
- It permeates (present in all aspects) politics.
- It is concerned with the authoritative allocation of scarce resources in society,
about who gets what, when, and how.
- Lord Acton once said, “power tend to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely”.

Power according to political theorist, Hannah Arendt, is "the human ability not just
to act but to act in concert." It is considered integral in politics and is the subject of a
great deal of debate and definitions have evolved over time.

*The ability to get somebody to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do.

*The ability to set agendas.

*Access to decision makers.

*The ability to participate in decision-making.

Influence - is the ability to persuade or convince others to accept certain objectives or

behave in a certain way.

Coercion - opposite of influence, it involves control by force; compliance is achieved

through punishments or threats.

Theories of power:

*Majoritarian: The majority decides. Elections are typically decided on a majoritarian

basis.

*Pluralist: Different groups coalesce around different issues at different times, each
competing for desired outcomes in decisions made by government.

*Elitist: Wealthy and powerful elites tend to dominate decision-making, with relatively
little meaningful competition.

What is authority?

• Authority is the ability to enforce laws, to exact obedience, to command, to

determine, or to judge.

What is government?
 • A government is the body that has the authority to make and enforce rules or
laws. An agency of the state that expresses the will of the people.

- Agency of the state that expresses the will of the people.

- Comes from the Latin term gubernaculum which means a rudder – gives
direction.

What is legitimacy?

• Legitimacy is an attribute of government gained through the acquisition and

application of power in accordance with recognized or accepted standards or
principles.
• It is a moral or ethical concept which involves perception of what is right.

What is sovereignty?

Sovereignty is the ability of a government to exert control over its territory free
from outside influence.

Max Weber identified three sources of legitimacy for authority, known as the tripartite
classification of authority. He proposed three reasons why people follow the orders of
those who give them:

1. Traditional

Traditional authorities receive loyalty because they continue and support the
preservation of existing values, the status quo. Traditional authority has the longest
history.

2. Charismatic

Charismatic authority grows out of the personal charm or the strength of an

individual personality. Charismatic regimes are often short-lived, seldom outliving the
charismatic figure that leads them.

Examples of Charismatic regimes include: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Hitler,

Napoleon, Mao, and Fidel Castro.

3. Legal-rational

Legal-rational authorities receive their ability to compel behavior by virtue of the

office that they hold. It is the authority that demands obedience to the office rather than
the office holder. Modern democracies are examples of legal-rational regimes. People
also abide by legal-rational authority because it makes sense to do so for the greater
good of society.
 Ten Lessons from Presidents
There are as many styles of leadership as there are leaders. That is very evident
from three American presidents whose legacies loom large thirty years and more after
they left office: Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and the one of the greatest president
of this century, Franklin Roosevelt.
• Timing is (almost) everything. Knowing when to introduce an initiative,
when to go before one’s constituents – and when to hold off – is a crucial skill.
As president, Johnson mastered one of the great skills of leadership – knowing
when to go forward with each of his goals. He had an instinctive sense of timing about
when to introduce a bill, and a sense of which ones would create momentum rather than
divisiveness for the next bill. For instance, Johnson introduced the Voting Rights Act on
the heels of the bloody march on Selma, Alabama, when police assaulted peaceful
demonstrators and Congress faced overwhelming public pressure to act. On the wall of
the oval office Johnson kept a map that showed him, which bills were in which
committee at every moment. He would come to his office at 5:00 A.M. and start calling
the congressmen and senators who he knew were going to have to vote on a provision
of the bill that day. If they didn’t answer the phone, he would talk to their wife, husband,
son, daughter, or grandchild, and he would make each senator and his family feel that
the senator was the key to success.(Cohen,1999).1
John F. Kennedy on the other hand, he did not possessed the instinctive
sense of timing that allowed Johnson to capitalize on dramatic moments and build on
each success. By contrast, Kennedy introduced a series of bills when he first came into
office that by the time of his death were stymied.
• Anything is possible if you share the glory. Giving others a chance to
claim credit is an easy and effective way to get results.
Johnson for instance, was able to share credit to the Congress. He understood
that he had to make the Congress feel that his landmark legislation was their triumph as
well.
• Trust, once broken, is seldom restored. It is the most fragile yet
essential attribute to leadership. No leader can afford to take his word lightly.
A leader should not break trust. It’s a disastrous decision in any institution, but
particularly when lives are at risk. In Johnson’s speeches he kept on promising that there
was a light at the end of the tunnel – a promised that proved fatal when he was unable to
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keep his word. This happened when he made a fatal decision with respect to the war in
Vietnam.
In contrast to Johnson, Roosevelt never promised that victory would be quick or
easy. After giving people his sober estimates, however, he said he was certain
eventually a democracy would beat out a dictatorship because a democracy releases
the free energies of a free people while the most efficient dictatorship never can.
• Leadership is about building connections. Effective leaders
make people feel they have a stake in common problems.
Kennedy’s strength and weaknesses as a leader were the mirror image of
Johnson’s. Johnson was brilliant in small groups, making deals with individual
congressmen, making Congress feel part of a team effort to create the Great Society;
Kennedy was never really comfortable with the world of legislative politics. He didn’t
enjoy the backroom schmoozing and didn’t believe in the process of political give-and-
take. His ambitions were always a step beyond the House and Senate, and his
colleagues there felt that he wasn’t really one of them.
• Leaders learn from their mistakes. To succeed, leaders must
acknowledge and understand and improve on their shortcomings.
One of Kennedy’s best temperamental qualities is his ability to learn from
mistakes. For example, after he made the disastrous mistake at the Bay of Pigs,
authorizing an ill-advised, ill-prepared intervention in Cuba, he reshaped his foreign
policy decision-making structure. Never again he depend on a narrow group of
advisers who may have leaded their own agendas.
Roosevelt on the other hand, understood the need for personal renewal, and he
drew sustenance from a remarkable group of people around him.
• Confidence – not just in oneself – counts. Most leaders are
self-confident, sometimes to a fault; the real gift is the ability to extend faith in oneself to
others. That means actually believing in their gifts.
Probably Roosevelt’s greatest gift as a leader was his absolute confidence in
him and, more important, in the American people. It was a confidence shaped in part
by his parents, by the possession of his talents, and by the transforming experience
of triumphing his polio. It was a confidence so deep that it provided an inner well of
security through the worst days of World War II.
Contrast that with Johnson waking in the night, worrying about whether the
bombing targets he had chosen had been right.
Roosevelt’s confidence allowed him to be flexible, to try everything and meet
defeat with serenity, knowing he’d do better next time.
 • Effective partnerships require devotion to one’s partners.
Attention to the needs of the remote plant or institution pays off with energetic
commitment.
In the case of Roosevelt, it was useful to consider his complicated and
difficult relationship with Eleanor (his wife). It was a historic partnership that points up
the importance for all leaders to have a counterpoint to themselves, someone who
mirrors their strengths and weaknesses, as in many ways Eleanor did for Franklin
Roosevelt. She was always concerned with what should be done; he was concerned
with what could be done. She was the idealist, he was the practical force.
(Cohen,1999).2
• Renewal comes from many sources. Leaders must know
themselves and find their own sources of strength.
For Johnson, his retirement was almost unbearable to him, because he knew
he had failed at the moment that his triumph had almost been achieved. In the end,
his greatest enemy was not his political or military adversaries, but his own
arrogance.
Roosevelt on the other hand, understood the need for personal renewal, and he
drew sustenance from a remarkable group of people around him.
• Leaders must be talent brokers. The ability to identify, recruit,
and effectively manage the best and brightest people – including people unlike oneself –
is itself a key talent.
To be sure, every leader uses talent differently. Roosevelt deliberately
appointed to his cabinet people of diverse points of view who weren’t afraid to
challenge one another, or him. Indeed, their public squabbles often-deflected
criticism away from him.
• Language is one’s most powerful tool. Without the ability to
communicate, leaders can possess all the other attributes and still fail to have an impact.
Kennedy understood the power of language, the importance of symbolism,
humor, and image to give the public a sense of connection to the presidency. He made
millions of people feel that they were a part of the New Frontier. That’s the mystery and
the art of leadership – the ability to mobilize people to feel included and to care about the
tasks ahead. Kennedy made politics exciting and fulfilling. He conveyed the most
important sense that a leader can convey: that the problems of the society, however
large they might seem, can be solved by public connection.

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Ideology – it is what people believe about politics and how
government should be run.

- An ''ideology'' is an organized collection of ideas. The word

ideology was coined by Count Destutt de Tracy in the late 18th
century to define a "science of ideas." An ideology can be thought of
as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things, as in
common sense and several philosophical tendencies, or a set of
ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of
this society.

- The word "ideology" was coined long before the Russians coined
"intelligentsia", or before the adjective "intellectual" referred to a sort
of person (a substantive).

Meta-ideology - It is the study of the structure, form, and

manifestation of ideologies. It posits that ideology is a coherent
system of ideas, relying upon a few basic assumptions about
reality that may or may not have any factual basis, but are
subjective choices that serve as the seed around which further
thought grows. According to this perspective, ideologies are
neither right nor wrong, but only a relativistic intellectual strategy
for categorizing the world.

Ideologues – is a person who believes in ideology.

David W. Minar describes six different ways in which the word

"ideology" has been used:

1. As a collection of certain ideas with certain kinds of content,

usually normative;
2. As the form or internal logical structure that ideas have within a
set;
3. By the role in which ideas play in human-social interaction;
4. By the role that ideas play in the structure of an organization;
5. As meaning, whose purpose is persuasion; and
6. As the locus of social interaction, possibly.
For Willard A. Mullins, an ideology is composed of four basic
characteristics:

1. It must have power over cognitions

2. It must be capable of guiding one's evaluations;
3. It must provide guidance towards action;
4. It must be logically coherent.

Political ideologies

- a political ideology is a certain ethical, set of ideals, principles,

doctrines, myths or symbols of a social movement, institution, class,
or large group that explain how society should work, and offer some
political and cultural blueprint for a certain social order. A political
ideology largely concerns itself with how to allocate power and to
what ends it should be used. It can be a construct of political thought,
often defining political parties and their policy.

- Political ideologies regard policies of many different aspects of a

society, the most central of which are: economy, education, criminal
law, management of criminals, minors, animals, environment,
immigration, eugenics, race, use of the military, forced nationalism,
and forced religion.

Political spectrum

- A political spectrum is a way of comparing or visualizing

different political positions. It does this by placing them upon
one or more geometric axes.

LEFTIST CENTRIST RIGHTIST

- They view men as - They view men as - They view men as

good individual. rational. evil.
- Government is not - Government is - Government must
needed. needed for control everything.
intervention.
- No prescribed law. - Laws exist and are - There are laws to be
being followed. implemented to
achieve order in
the society.

- The terms Left and Right to refer to political affiliation

originated early in the French Revolutionary era, and referred
originally to the seating arrangements in the various legislative
bodies of France. The aristocracy sat on the right of the
Speaker (traditionally the seat of honor) and the commoners sat
on the Left, hence the terms Right-wing politics and Left-wing
politics.
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
1. Anarchism

It is a manner of organizing society, derived from the Greek ναρχία ("without

archons" or "without chiefs"). It is made up of the Greek words av (meaning: absence of
[and pronounced "an"] and apxn (meaning: authority or government [and pronounced
"arkhe"]).

Today, dictionary definitions still define anarchism as the absence of

government. These modern dictionary definitions of anarchism are based on the writings
and actions of anarchists of history and present. Anarchists understand, as do historians
of anarchism and good dictionaries and encyclopedias, that the word anarchism
represents a positive theory.

Professor Noam Chomsky said that "...anarchism isn't a doctrine. It's at most a
historical tendency, a tendency of thought and action, which has many different ways of
developing and progressing and which, I would think, will continue as a permanent
strand of human history."

Pierre Joseph Proudhon became a leading anarchist figure in the world. His
book What is Property? incorporated greater meaning to the word anarchism; anarchism
became not only a rejection of established authority but a theory opposing ownership of
land and property as well.

Thus "anarchism," in its most general meaning, is the belief that all forms of
rulership are undesirable and should be abolished. Anarchism also refers to related
philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of coercive institutions.
The word "anarchy", as most anarchists use it, does not imply chaos, nihilism, or
anomie, but rather a harmonious anti-authoritarian society that is based on voluntary
association of free individuals in autonomous communities, mutual aid, and self-
governance.

The word "anarchist" originated as a term of abuse.

According to Murray Rothbard, Taoist Chuang-tzu was possibly "the world's first
anarchist"; Chuang-tzu said, the world "does not need governing; in fact it should not be
governed" and "Good order results spontaneously when things are let alone.

As an organized movement, anarchism is largely dead, but it retains importance

as a philosophical attitude and a political tendency, and to lesser degree as a source of
social protest. In recent years they have mounted highly visible, sometimes violent or
destructive public protests at international conferences attended by representatives of
the governments and corporations of major industrialized nations, such as meetings of
the Group of Seven, the World Trade Organization, and the World Economic Forum.

Criticisms of anarchism

Violence

Since anarchism has often been associated with violence and destruction, it has
been portrayed as being inherently violent. This is a matter of much debate between
anarcho-pacifists and those who argue for the right to use violence in self-defence,
whether of individuals or of class interests.

Utopianism

Anarchism is often criticised as unfeasible or plain utopian, even by many who agree
that it's a nice idea in principle.

2. Socialism

It refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a

socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to
social control.

It championed public ownership, a planned economy, and state intervention in

market forces.

As an economic system, socialism is usually associated with state or collective

ownership of the means of production. This control, according to socialists, may
be either direct, exercised through popular collectives such as workers' councils,
or it may be indirect, exercised on behalf of the people by the state

The term "socialism" was first used in the context of early-19th century Western
European social critics.

Public ownership of productive resources; may have some form of democratic

government.

*Strength: May do a better job of ensuring provision of minimum human needs.

*Weakness: Lack of private ownership means opposition lacks resources to politically

oppose government. Economically less productive, resulting in lower overall standard of
living.

3. Communism
 It is a political ideology that seeks to establish a future classless, stateless
social organization based upon common ownership of the means of production. It
can be classified as a branch of the broader socialist movement. The term communism
also refers to a variety of politics claiming the establishment of such a social organization
as their fundamental intention.

It is a higher and more radical stage of Socialism.

In ancient Greece the idea of communism was connected to a myth about the
"golden age" of humanity, when society lived in full harmony, before the development of
private property.

The word "communist" itself was coined in 1840 by Goodwyn Barmby, after the
French word communisme.

Theories within Marxism as to why communism in Eastern Europe was not

achieved after socialist revolutions pointed to such elements as the pressure of external
capitalist states, the relative backwardness of the societies in which the revolutions
occurred, and the emergence of a bureaucratic stratum or class that arrested or diverted
the transition press in its own interests.

Comparing "Communism" to "communism"

- communism and derived words are written with the lowercase "c" except
when they refer to a political party of that name, a member of that party, or a
government led by such a party, in which case the word "Communist" is
written with the uppercase "C." Thus, one may be a communist (an advocate
of communism) without being a Communist (a member of a Communist Party
or another similar organization).

4. Marxism - is the philosophy, social theory and political practice based on the works of
Karl Marx, a 19th century German socialist philosopher, economist, journalist, and
revolutionary. Marx, often in collaboration with Friedrich Engels, drew on G.W.F. Hegel's
philosophy, the political economy of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and theorists of
19th century French socialism, to develop a critique of society which he claimed was
both scientific and revolutionary.

The four basic elements in Marxist ideology can be summarized as follows:

1. Capitalism is unjust and doomed.

2. Capitalism has internal contradictions which provide economic
depressions.
3. Capitalism should be abolished and replaced with the collective
ownership of the means of production.
4. The Communist party, the instrument of the working class will provide the
means to carry out the overthrow capitalism, which will lead to the new
society and the withering away of the state.

Largely public ownership of productive resources; no meaningful political

participation outside of party apparatus.
*Strength: Meets minimum human needs.

*Weakness: No meaningful political participation; government not amenable to change

in response to public pressure; economically backward and results it lower overall
standard of living. Eventually tends toward political repression because there is no
check on government power

5. Liberalism

It is an ideology, philosophy, and political tradition that holds liberty as the

primary political value.

Liberalism has its roots in the Western Enlightenment, but the term now encompasses a
diversity of political thought, with adherents spanning a large part of the political
spectrum, from left to right. In the context of economics, the term "liberalism" refers to
economic liberalism, which is associated with the political ideology of liberalism itself.

The word "liberal" derives from the Latin liber ("free"), from which the term
"liberty" also comes.

John Locke was the most influential of the early liberals, who are referred as
classical liberals. He argued that all human beings have the right to life, liberty, and
property and that they create government to protect and preserve these basic rights. If
the government fails in this task, Locke said, the people have the right to overthrow it.

Classical Liberals called for equality before the law and equality of right in
respect to person and property.

John Stuart Mill, Jean Jacques Rosseau and Adam Smith are some of the
proponents of Liberalism.

Adam Smith with his laissez faire. He maintained that government had only three
duties:

To defend against foreign attack.

To establish an administration of justice.
To undertake providing goods or projects which are not profitable in a free
society, but which will provide collective benefits and to ensure that all
individuals pay a fair share toward them.

Broadly speaking, liberalism seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for

individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of
law, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free
private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of
minorities are guaranteed.

There are three important aspects to classical liberal thought;

Political – it is concerned with basic political rights.

Morally – it affirms basic values including freedom and dignity.
Economics – it is dedicated to the right to private property and free enterprise.

Minimum government involvement in the economy and private life; leaves most
decisions aside from foreign affairs and defense policy up to private citizens.

*Strength: Offers complete freedom of choice on a range of issues.

*Weakness: Does not address externalities generated by capitalism; may not provide
for public goods (such as roads, health care, retirement programs).

6. Conservatism

It is a philosophy defined by Edmund Burke as "a disposition to preserve, and

an ability to improve.

The term derives from conserve; from Latin conservare, to keep, guard, observe.

Edmund Burke was the earliest figure to attempt to refine and clarify the ideology
that became known as conservatism.

Early conservatives were skeptical of the value of change. They argued that one
must be cautious of the untried and unproven, and respect the habits and customs that
have served well in the past. They wanted change to be gradual.

To a conservative, the goal of change is less important than the insistence that
change be effected with a respect for the rule of law and traditions of society.

Conservatism is tethered to the traditions of a given society and therefore it

cannot hold any single or universal meaning across the world.

7. Fascism

It was the authoritarian political movement that ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under
the leadership of Benito Mussolini.

It is a radical authoritarian political philosophy that combines elements of

corporatism, totalitarianism, extreme nationalism, militarism, anti-communism and anti-
liberalism.

Fascism is also typified by totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all
aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic. The fascist state regulates and
controls (as opposed to nationalizing) the means of production. Fascism exalts the
nation, state, or race as superior to the individuals, institutions, or groups composing it.
Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past
greatness; and demands loyalty to a single leader, often to the point of a cult of
personality
 The word "fascism" comes from fascio (plural: fasci), which may mean "bundle,"
as in a political or militant group or a nation, but also from the fasces (rods bundled
around an axe), which were an ancient Roman symbol of the authority of magistrates.

Fascism is associated by many scholars with one or more of the following

characteristics: a very high degree of nationalism, economic corporatism, a powerful,
dictatorial leader who portrays the nation, state or collective as superior to the individuals
or groups composing it.

Nazism was the ideology held by the National Socialist German Workers Party
(Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, commonly called NSDAP or the Nazi
Party), which was led by Adolf Hitler. The word Nazism is most often used in connection
with the government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 (the "Third Reich"), and it was
derived from the term National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus, often
abbreviated NS).

It is the brainchild of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945). He was imprisoned and wrote the
book entitled My Struggle

Adherents of the Nazi ideology held that the Aryan race was superior to other
races, and they promoted Germanic racial supremacy and a strong, centrally governed
state. Nazism has been outlawed in modern Germany (including all types of its
propaganda), yet remnants and revivalists, known as "Neo-Nazis", continue to operate in
Germany and abroad.

No public participation in politics, low to heavy government involvement in the

economy.

*Strength: Decisions get made.

*Weakness: Allows for systematic persecution of unpopular groups; economically not as

efficient; concentrates power in too few hands.

Racism was a key component of Hitler’s nationalist ideology. (social Darwinism –

to legitimize the supremacy of the white skinned people on the basis of biological
superiority.

8. Feminism

Feminism is theory that men and women should be equal politically,

economically and socially.

This is the core of all feminism theories. Sometimes this definition is also referred
to as "core feminism" or "core feminist theory." Notice that this theory does not subscribe
to differences between men and women or similarities between men and women, nor
does it refer to excluding men or only furthering women's causes. Most other branches
of feminism do.
 Why you believe in feminism and what your ideas are to make feminism a reality
is what causes arguments within the feminism movement.

You may find that you believe in the theory of feminism, but do not see yourself
fitting into the branches of feminism below, that is common. You can believe that women
and men should be politically, economically and socially equal for your own reasons and
hold your own ideas pertaining how you can make that happen. If that is the case, then
generally you can consider yourself a feminist.

Feminist

One who believes in the theory of feminism that is mentioned above.

Amazon Feminism

Amazon feminism is dedicated to the image of the female hero in Greek

mythology, as it is expressed in art and literature, in the physiques and feats of female
athletes, and in sexual values and practices.

Amazon feminism focuses on physical equality and is opposed to gender role

stereotypes and discrimination against women based on assumptions that women are
supposed to be, look, or behave as if they are passive, weak and physically helpless.
Amazon feminism rejects the idea that certain characteristics or interests are inherently
masculine (or feminine), and upholds and explores a vision of heroic womanhood.

An Amazon feminist, for example, would argue that some people are not cut out
physically to be a fire fighter, serve in combat, or work in construction. Whereas some
people are physically capable of doing such jobs. No mention of gender is made, as the
jobs should be open to all people regardless of gender. Those men and women who are
physically capable and want to, should pursue such jobs. Amazon feminists tend to view
that all women are as physically capable as all men.

Cultural Feminism

The theory that there are fundamental personality differences between men and
women, and that women's differences are special and should be celebrated. This theory
of feminism supports the notion that there are biological differences between men and
women. For example, "women are kinder and more gentle then men," leading to the
mentality that if women ruled the world there would be no wars. Cultural feminism is the
theory that wants to overcome sexism by celebrating women's special qualities,
women's ways, and women's experiences, often believing that the "woman's way" is the
better way.

Ecofeminism

Ecofeminism is a theory that rests on the basic principal that patriarchial

philosophies are harmful to women, children, and other living things. Parallels are drawn
between society's treatment of the environment, animals, or resources and its treatment
of women. In resisting patriarchial culture, eco-feminists believe they are also resisting
plundering and destroying of the Earth. They feel that the patriarchial philosophy
emphasizes the need to dominate and control unruly females and the unruly wilderness.

Ecofeminism states that the patriarchial society is relatively new, something

developed over the last 5,000 years or so and that the matriarchial society was the first
society. In the matriarchial society, women were the center of society and people
worshipped Goddesses. This is known as the Feminist Eden.

Feminazi

This term was made popular by the radio/tv host Rush Limbaugh. A feminazi is
defined by anti-feminists as a feminist who is trying to produce as many abortions as
possible. Hence the term "nazi." Limbuah sees feminists as trying to rid the world of a
particular group of people (fetuses).

Individualist, or Libertarian Feminism

Individualist feminism is based upon individualism or libertarian (minimum

government or anarchocapitalist) philosophies. The primary focus is individual
autonomy, rights, liberty, independence and diversity. Individualist Feminism tends to
widely encompass men and focuses on barriers that men and women face due to their
gender.

Material Feminism

A movement in the late 19th century to liberate women by improving their

material condition. This movement revolved around taking the "burden" off women in
regards to housework, cooking, and other traditional female domestic jobs. The Grand
Domestic Revolution by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a reference.

Moderate Feminism

This branch of feminism tends to be populated mostly by younger women or

women who have not directly experienced discrimination. They tend to question the
need for further effort, and think that feminism is no longer viable. They often view
feminism as embarrassing (it's thought that this is the group most likely to espouse
feminist ideas and thoughts while denying being "feminist").

N.O.W. Feminism (also referred to as Gender Feminism)

My own term for the type of feminism the National Organization for Women
represents. This theory is based on the notion that in order for men and women to be
equal (as the core of 'feminism' states), women must be granted some special privileges,
and men should not be an issue in feminism.

This could be exemplified by N.O.W. publicly supporting women who wish to

enter traditional all-male scools. While N.O.W. will take strong and loud stands to
support that, they are silent regarding men being able to enter traditional all-female
schools. Another example could be how N.O.W. is quick to support women as public
icons who are victims of sexual harassment, yet offer no public support for men as pulbic
icons who are victims of sexual harassment. In both instances, N.O.W. feminism
encompases only women and fights to offer special privilages to women with the intent
of making women equal to men.

Pop-Feminism

Pop-feminism is often mistaken by people to be feminism in general... the

negative stereotypical man hating ideology. There is no proof that such feminists exist, I
have yet to meet a feminist who hates men and indeed, many men are feminists. But, if
such a category of feminists exist, they should be referred to as 'pop-feminists.' This
would be the type of feminism that degrades men in all manners and glorifies women.

Radical Feminism

Radical feminism is the breeding ground for many of the ideas arising from
feminism. Radical feminism was the cutting edge of feminist theory from approximately
1967-1975. It is no longer as universally accepted as it was then, and no longer serves
to solely define the term, "feminism."

This group views the oppression of women as the most fundamental form of
opression, one that cuts across boundaries of race, culture, and economic class. This is
a movement intent on social change, change of rather revolutionary proportions.

Radical feminism questions why women must adopt certain roles based on their
biology, just as it questions why men adopt certain other roles based on theirs. Radical
feminism attempts to draw lines between biologically-determined behavior and culturally-
determined behavior in order to free both men and women as much as possible from
their previous narrow gender roles.

Separatists

Separatists are often wrongly depicted as lesbians. These are the feminists who
advocate separation from men; sometimes total, sometimes partial. Women who
organize women-only events are often dubbed separatist.

The core idea is that "separating" (by various means) from men enables women
to see themselves in a different context. Many feminists, whether or not separatist, think
this is a necessary "first step," for personal growth. However, they do not necessarily
endorse permanent separation.
 It is inaccurate to consider all lesbians as separatist. While it is true that they do
not interact with men for sexual fulfillment, it is not true that they automatically shun all
interaction with men.

Political culture
 Refers to what people believe and feel about government,
and how they think people should act towards it. To
understand the relationship of a government to its people,
and how those people are going to act toward that
government and others, it is necessary to study what
those people believe about themselves and government.
 Attitudes, values, beliefs, and orientations that individuals
in a society hold regarding their political system.
 Refers to people’s attitudes and values of the member’s
of society influence social and political decision-making.
 It can constrain or encourage certain behaviors and
relations.
 It is useful in understanding different domestic institutions
in a comparative perspective.

History:
 It was first coined in the United States in the 1950’s and has
since been defined in various ways.
 Sidney Verba, a leading scholar on the subject, defined political
culture as “the system of empirical beliefs, expressive symbols,
and values which defines the situation in which political action
takes place.”

COMPONENTS OF POLITICAL CULTURE:

 1. ATTITUDES – psychological orientations toward
political objects, frequently involving normative
conceptions of how things ought to be.
2. BELIEFS – conception on how things are, which may
or may not be accurate.
3. FEELINGS – emotional attachments and reactions.
4. COGNITION - knowledge and information.
5. VALUES – priorities and goals.

Political socialization – where political culture and public

opinion started.

Political Efficacy – the extent to which individual citizens

feel that they can affect political decisions.

Civil Society – refers to the social and economic

arrangements that counterbalance the powers of the State
by providing an alternative source of power and prestige to
that offered by the State itself.

Political Culture vs. Ideology

 Political Culture is broader; it refers to a vaguer, more
implicit orientation, which may include more than one
ideology.
 Ideology refers to an explicit doctrinal structure,
providing a particular diagnosis of ills of society, plus an
accompanying action program for implementing the
prescribed solutions.

Political Culture vs. Public Opinion

 Public Opinion focuses about specific leaders, policies
and issues.
  Political Culture refers to underlying feelings towards
politics and government.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF POLITICAL CULTURE

ACCORDING TO GABRIEL ALMOND AND SIDNEY
VERBA:

1. PAROCHIAL POLITICAL CULTURES – are

dominated be people who are concerned almost
entirely with local political issues. They have
limited knowledge of the national issues.
- People are distanced from their national
government to such an extent that they feel it has
nothing to do with them.
2. SUBJECT POLITICAL CULTURES – are found in the
slums of major cities, most noticeably in Latin
America. People are aware of the political situation;
however, the level of involvement is low as they feel
relatively powerless to influence the government
policies.
- People view themselves simply as subjects
whose lives are directed by apolitical process
above them.

3. PARTICIPANT POLITICAL CULTURES – are those

of the major Western democracies. People feel free
to participate, believing that their participation
affects decision-making.
- Are highly efficacious – they believe that
political decisions affect their lives and that they
can contribute to their political system.

Sources of Political Culture

Historical roots
Legal-sociological factors
■Churches are political
■Family unit

The Culture War

Foundation of Political Culture:

Religion – is one of the most important. It has played
an important role in the evolution of civilizations and
the founding of many states.5
David Wurfel – described the Philippines as having a
parochial and subject political cultures.

Onofre D. Corpuz – described Filipinos as one that “has

a superstructure of attitudes and values of Western
origin.”

In a survey by SWS entitled: “Whom do Filipino Trust?”.

- Filipinos tended to trust The Supreme Court than
the Congress.

Political culture exercised by the Filipinos:

1. Pakikisama
2. Utang na loob
3. Compadrazo
4. Delicadeza
5. Palabra de honor