Political Theory and Political Beliefs

Political Behavior of the Individual

• “Micropolitics”

• The political ideologies, beliefs, and actions of an individual

• Philosophical beliefs and thoughts

• Ideas shared by groups of people

• Personal beliefs

• The actions we take to realize our political goals.

Political Philosophy

• Asks questions about the role of:– Communities– Structures– Authority– Change– Justice– Rulers– Citizens

Questions!

• What is human nature?

• What is justice?

• Where do our rights originate?

• What are the limits to authority?

Questions!

• Does citizenship carry certain obligations and privileges?

• Where are the limits of freedom and equality?

• Are individuals more likely to be social or autonomous?

• Should there be a distinction between public and private life?

Political Theory

• “Normative” political theory—how we believe politics or government should be

• What is the role of government?

• How should it achieve these goals?

• Why do we need government

Hobbes

• People are selfish and self-serving• We live in a “state of nature” if there is no

governing structure• There are conflicts that arise when people

seek what they want• We give up some freedoms to an

authority in order to gain protection• Contract with authority• We must then obey the authority, even if

force is used or we disagree with the actions in providing for our protection

Locke

• Live in a state of nature• We gain property by mixing our labor with

resources• Works fine in small communities• In larger communities with division of

labor, we contract our labor in exchange for $

• Government is necessary to protect our property/contracts

Power of ??

• Hobbes = power is held by the sovereign over the subjects

• Locke = power is held by the people and government acts by the will of the people

Political Ideology

• Philosophical beliefs about the political world and government

• Strategic beliefs on the actions government and people should take to realize their political world

• Shared by groups of people: can unite, move to take action; can create violent action against others, lead to war

Three Major Ideological Beliefs

• Liberalism

• Conservatism

• Socialism

Liberalism

• Change is necessary and good

• The individual is the primary actor– Rational decision maker– Good at heart– People can determine the laws to live by

• Individual freedom to realize “the good life”

Classical Liberalism

• Economic liberalism– Free market system– Limited government

• Individual over social good– Less reliance on religion and tradition– Progress and change necessary– Enlightened self-interest– Equality before the law– Material equality/equal outcome not necessary– Free to pursue goals, but equal outcome not

guaranteed

Modern Liberalism

• Change is necessary to address the ills produced by capitalism and industrialization

• More government involvement to help the individual have an equal opportunity to pursue “the good life”

• Equal out the unjustness of society• Government controls over market when “free

market system” abuses people freedoms– Child labor– Low wages– No benefits– Poor working conditions

Modern Liberalism

• Insure individual freedom– Freedom to choose what the “good life” is as

long as it doesn’t unduly affect someone else’s “good life”

• Pro-choice• Privacy (gay marriage) • Speech (flag burning)

Neo-Liberalism

• Return to free market system

• Less government controls over government

• Individual freedom– Keep government out of people’s lives

Conservatism

• Slow change if any at all• Adhere to traditional values/historical continuity

– People are not always rational actor– Emotions can produce poor policy making– Therefore, use history and tradition (what has worked

so far) in making slow policy changes

• Social hierarchies are natural and good– Society is a living organism– Hierarchies (ranking of abilities) benefits society by

allowing those who have greater abilities to run society (economy, business, politics, etc), and by encouraging others to do their best and gain more

Conservatism

• Religious traditions should be valued• Nationalism/national unity valued• Order over freedom

– Need for order and stability (people want this)– Family basic unit of society and must be maintained

or society will degenerate– Unequal groups must work together– People can’t do anything they want

• Individual responsibility– To be economically self-sufficient– Not to rely on government assistance (strain

government resources/take from others?

Neo-Conservatism

• Free market system• Less government controls over economy• Strong government to insure social good

and stability• Strong international policy to protect the

state (democratization, intervention, “big stick” politics)

• Equality and freedom important, but not at the cost of individual freedom and the social good

• “Liberals who got a shot of reality”

Socialism

• Equality of outcome• Public ownership of means of production• State protects equality• Economic and political power benefits

everyone• People are social creatures at heart that

care and have compassion for others• The environment

(political/social/economic structures) create attitudes and behaviors of greed

Socialism

• Create a positive environment to enhance sharing and cooperation

• Collective good over individual freedom• Needs of society (social good) most important• Government socialization and intervention• Inequality creates misery, alienation and conflict

in society• Government use of power to benefit all equally• People naturally become willing to help the

social good

Communism

• Marxist/Leninist Socialism– Soviet Union, China, South America– Ideal: capitalism goes through a crisis,

communism emerges, state “withers away,” and people gain back control over their lives politically, economically and religiously

– Reality: violent civil conflicts, strong central governments, no transition from capitalism (never really existed), Cold War forced strong state action, social good not realized

Communism

• (Democratic) Socialism– Democratic government– Market economy– Government intervention to address

inequalities produced by market economy/capitalism

Questions

• What is human nature?

• What is justice?

• Where do our rights originate?

•

• What are the limits to authority?

Questions

• Does citizenship carry certain obligations and privileges?

• Where are the limits of freedom and equality?

• Are individuals more likely to be social or autonomous?

• Should there be a distinction between public and private life?