2. 1. Understanding the context of where we are
and how we got here (our history and our
place in history)
2. Learning about the “what” of government
and politics – structures and processes
3. Learning about the “why” of government
and politics -
4. Promoting improved civic literacy and civic
engagement
5. Where are we/where are we going?
3. The place of politics in history
◦ From the dawn of social interaction, there has been
a need for governance
Inherent to society
◦ Government exists to provide the following to a
society:
Security/defense (from external threats)
Order (to protect from internal threats)
Structures (e.g. justice, education, public works)
Economic stability and prosperity
4. Political Ideology: a belief system, held by a
group of people, used to describe and
understand the world around them and to
determine their form of government
Forms:
◦ Autocracy
◦ Democracy
◦ Communism
◦ Fascism (Authoritarianism)
5. Political ideology: Autocracy
First/Oldest form of government
Power and authority concentrated in the hands of one or a
few
Citizens have little/no say – are to do as they are told
Forms:
Monarchies
Emperors
Pharohs
Dictatorships
Oligarchies
Dictatorship (ruthless/benevolent)
Fascism/Totalitarianism
Remains the most common form of government
Modern examples: Cuba, Libya, Saudi Arabia
6. Democracy
◦ Old (direct) Greece (Aristotle)
◦ Modern (indirect) United States (Locke, Smith,
Montesieu, Rousseau)
◦ Power resides with the people – people must be
involved, consulted
◦ Majoritarianism v. pluralism
◦ 2 schools of thought: Puritan & French
Puritan = focus on equality of opportunity
example: US
economic system: capitalism
French = focus on absolute equality
example: Scandinavian countries
economic system: socialism
7. Economic solutions:
◦ Capitalism: the private ownership of the economy
◦ Socialism: some degree of government ownership
of the economy
◦ Communism: the social ownership of the economy
8. Modern Democracy – characteristics
Representative (indirect)
Egalitarianism
Individualism
Freedom
Justice
Rationalism
Role of elections and citizen involvement
Republicanism (power resides with the people)
Role of the media
Value of social interaction
◦ Modern examples: US, Canada, Western Europe
9. Communism
◦ The social ownership of the means of production
and supply
◦ An economic concept with social and political
implications
◦ Father of Communism = Karl Marx (19th Century)
Reaction to social conditions of Europe and the impact
of industrialization, modernization, urbanization, and
capitalization (the four horse of change in the modern
world)
10. Karl Marx
◦ An intellectual – a true genius
◦ Invented a political ideology (communism)
◦ A utopian idea
◦ An economic argument
◦ Wrote:
The Communist Manifesto (Das Kapital)
The Dialectic (major intellectual work in 3 volumes)
11. The Dialectic
◦ “The Argument”
◦ Assumptions
Based on pre-determinism
History seen as cycles of exploitation – each
subsequent generation achieves greater efficiency in
exploitation than the one that preceded it
Capitalism = the zenith of exploitation (those who
exploit and those who are exploited)
Triggers awareness of exploitation (by those being
exploited)
12. The Dialectic
◦ Awareness of classes of people
Capitalists – owners of the machines
Bourgeoisie – managers of the machines
Proletariat – workers
◦ Inevitable class conflict results
◦ Results in spontaneous violent revolution
◦ Emergence of a classless society
◦ “dictatorship of the proletariat”
◦ Path to communism
Individual replaced by social sense of place & need
Withering away of the state
13. Problems with communism
◦ Utopian
◦ Economic driven ideology
◦ Requires changes in fundamental human design –
elimination of the Id (the individual)
◦ Marx had predicted the revolution would occur in
Britain in the mid-19th Century (all conditions
existed – pre-determined to happen) DIDN’T
HAPPEN - WHY? - Marx dies completely baffled
and demoralized
14. Contributions of Lenin
◦ V. Lenin – Russian – exiled by Czar after watching
brother painfully executed for treason
◦ Lenin vowed revenge against the Czar
◦ Retools communism
Marx’s predictions thwarted by IMPERIALISM – allowed
for the exportation of the worst aspects of capitalism
to colonies – diffused pressures of history and
prevented revolution – derailed the train of history
Lenin maintains revolution must now be orchestrated
to overcome IMPERIALISM and put the train of history
back on track
15. Lenin leads revolution of 1917 in Russia –
battle rages and becomes civil war –
Lenin’s forces emerge victorious – Lenin
replaces Czarist system with “communist”
government - then dies unexpectedly in
1924
Joseph Stalin emerges (may have had Lenin
killed) – takes Russia in new direction
16. Marx = idealist/true communist
Lenin = man driven by revenge – uses
Marxism as tool to achieve end
Stalin = not a Marxist/not a Leninist – rather,
he is a “Stalinist” – committed to the
rapid modernization of Russia
Observation: Stalin a FASCIST – not really a
communist –
Modern examples: Fabian society
17. Fascism: a 20th century phenomenon, rulers
utilize advances in technology and
communication to dominate and intimidate
and to rule by fear – also known as
totalitarianism
18. Fascism: characteristics
◦ Charismatic leader/dictator
◦ Top down control
◦ Use of fear and intimidation
◦ Extreme nationalism
◦ Usually racist
◦ Role of propaganda
◦ Anti-intellectual
◦ Usually short-lived (after leader deposed)
◦ Modern examples: perhaps any dictatorship –
historic: Nazi Germany, Italy & Spain under Franco
19. Political Ideologies – summary
◦ 7.6 billion people
◦ 210 countries
◦ Autocracy remains the most common form of
government/political ideology
◦ True democracies are relatively limited
◦ From Freedom House:
