From the book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

From the book - Essay Example In our present political system, the Democrats can be considered as liberals due to the parallelism of their party ideology to liberalism. a. Conservatism Conservatism is often considered to be a right wing political ideology that seeks to uphold the traditional institutions in society. As an ideology, conservatism seeks to emphasize stability of how things were done and values continuity. Famous thinkers who advocated conservatism were Aristotle and Edmund Burke who presupposed that to change societies, it has to be understood at its present form, accept them as they are and help them evolve rather make a radical change. Conservatives, as what the proponents of conservatism are called, believed in the evolution of society as an agent of change rather than the radical or revolutionary change. In principle, conservatives were opposed to the kind of revolution such as the French Revolution and its kindred revolution. Conservatives believes and favors more the gradual change that does n ot shake society to maintain its stability rather a radical transformation. It grounds its ideology based on the reality of society and not on certain ideas of what an ideal society should be such as the society that Marx’s Communism envisioned. Such, conservatives are known to be realist than idealist. b. Socialism Socialism differentiates from capitalism in a way that its mode of production are owned or controlled by its workers and business does not exist. Industries exist only to satisfy a certain need or demand and its production and distribution is done through a centralized planning or planned by the state. Socialism is said to be the stage before achieving the final stage of communism. As a political ideology, socialism is characterized with the common ownership of the modes of production that it is not intended for profit but rather to satisfy a demand and to fulfill human needs. Since ownership of the modes of production is communal, it meant that no individual has the right to control the modes of production or resources. Production also is not intended for business but for use and to satisfy the needs of society rather than the accumulation of wealth through profit. Proceeds of the output of production is distributed according to individual contribution instead of salary as we know it. c. Fascism Fascism is a political ideology that aims to consolidate a country in terms of their national identity based on their heredity or race under a state that mobilizes its citizen through stringent discipline and mass political indoctrination. Its government is dictatorial and considers conflict as a necessity to achieve national goal. Fascism shares a trait with socialism that the modes of production are not controlled by an individual but by the state. But unlike socialism that does not entertain private enterprise, fascism promotes the regulation of private enterprise when it is beneficial to the state. Its economic goal is self-sufficiency. Governme nts that once were fascists were Italy under Benito Mussolin and Germany under Adolf Hitler. d. Anarchism.   The mainstream anarchist ideology such as that of Bakunin opposes any form of authority or institutions that will govern individuals and society and