Gini Index-
The distribution of income across a population, essentially measures ‘inequality’
Human Development Index (HDI)-
Measures the quality of life (assesses health, education, and wealth of population). AKA: “Standard of living”
Gross Domestic Production (GDP)-
Most used measure for the size of an economy.
Identify the four major political attitudes-
Radical, liberal, conservative, and reactionary
What is the political attitudes’ relationship to the degree and speed of change?
- Radical- Forward degree and speed of change
- Liberal- Forward degree and speed of change
- Conservative- Backward degree and speed of change
- Reactionary- Backward degree and speed of change
How are the political attitudes similar?-
Radicals and reactionaries both see the system as broken and cannot be fixed. They both are also willing to use violence to achieve their goals. Liberals and conservatives are similar because they both fall in the middle of the political attitude spectrum so they could potentially have similar views on different issues.
How are the political attitudes different?
Radicals and reactionaries are different because radicals are far left, and reactionaries are far right. Reactionaries want to reverse change while radicals want something completely new and complete change. Liberals and conservatives (and the general left and right), have many differences on issues such as immigration (liberals are pro and conservatives are against illegal immigration), abortion, gay rights, and guns.
Identify the six major Political Ideologies
- Liberalism
- Communism
- Social Democracy (Socialism)
- Facism
- Anarchism
- Populism
What do the political attitudes advocate for?
Liberalism advocates for individual, political, and economic freedom. Communism believes the nation should be controlling the economy for economic equality. Market forces eliminated and state control production and distribution. Social democracy wants to blend communism and liberalism. Supports economic equality and private property and market forces. Facism wants the nation to be like an instrument and a whole society (so individualism is rejected).
How do they feel about capacity and autonomy and why?
Liberalism low capacity and autonomy so the state can be checked by the public if it breaches individual rights. Communism favors strong capacity and autonomy because they want control of the nation for economic equality. Socialism wants a strong capacity and autonomy for economic stability. Facism wants a strong capacity and autonomy for a strong state. Anarchism does not want capacity and autonomy since they do not want a government.
How do they feel about strong or weak state and why?
- Liberalism wants a weak state so it can be checked by the public if it breaches individual rights
- Communism wants a strong state to be in control of its economy.
- Socialism wants a strong state to regulate the economy and provide benefits to the public.
- Facism wants a strong state to control its citizens and prevent them from doing anything out of line
- Anarchism wants to eliminate the state since they believe it’s the only way to freedom and equality.
What are their strengths?
Liberalism- The greatest amount of prosperity for the majority and the public is free to do as they wish. Communism- ensures economic equality. Socialism- People get both freedom and economic stability. Facism- Economic stability. Anarchism- People can self-rule and decide what’s best for themselves. Populism- Supports the interests and rights of the common people over the elites
What are their weaknesses?
Liberalism- economic inequality. Communism- Freedom is restricted. Socialism- Fascism- People suffer due to the grouping of inferior and superior and freedom levels are low. Anarchism- People can make bad decisions since it’s self-rule and bring the nation down. Populism- Leaders are often dishonest, use inflammatory language, might manufacture crises to justify the call of a revolt, and they claim that any opposition to them is an attack on the people.
How do they distribute power?
The unitary government is a government system with a single power that is known as the central government which controls the whole state. The federal government is a government system where power is shared between the central government and regional bodies.
What are the strengths of each?
Unitary government-
* Rules and regulations in the nation remain consistent and equal.
* Less expensive compared to the federal government
* More efficient because fewer people are making the decisions
* More timely decisions in a time of emergency
Federal government-
* There is more people and more input from them so there is more experimentation and innovation
* There is a check on the growth of the central government’s power
* Locals tend to understand local problems more
What are the weaknesses of each?
Unitary government-
* Local authority is limited so people have limited voice so not much options for change or innovation
* No check to the central power so people can abuse their power
Federal government-
* Inefficient and more expensive
* The competing authorities can produce confusion or disunited policies which can have results that are chaotic.
* A federal system can make ethnic or regional differences worse
Liberalism Tenets
Favors a limited state role in society and economic activity; emphasizes a high degree of personal freedom over social equality. Conservative is corresponding political attitude.
Communism Tenets
Emphasizes limited personal freedom and a strong state in order to achieve social equality: property is wholly owned by the state and market forces are eliminated; state takes on task of production and other economic decisions. Corresponding political attitude: Radical
Social Democracy Tenets
Supports private property and markets but believes the state has a strong role to play in regulating the economy and providing benefits to the public; seeks to balance freedom and equality. Corresponding political attitude: Liberal
Fascism Tenets
Stresses a low degree of both personal freedom and equality in order to achieve a powerful state
Anarchism Tenets
Stresses the elimination of the state and private property as a way to achieve both freedom and equality for all; believes that a high degree of personal freedom and social equality is possible
What are the authoritarian regimes and their characteristics?
- Personal rule- one individual rules because they claim to be the only one fit to run the country. They don’t support any political ideology. They control by using the patrimonialism, cult of personality, and coercion techniques.
- Military rule- a high ranking military leader rules and they seize power in a coup d’état (a sudden and violent overthrow of existing government by a small group). These rulers promise to return rules to civilians, deliver stability, and end corruption and violence. They enjoy public support and do not support any specific ideology
- One party rule- A single party rules and all other parties are usually banned or restricted. Typically based on communism or fascism parties. They control the population with corporatism, cult of personality, coercion, and surveillance.
- Theocracy- God rules and the foundation for the regime is faith, religious leaders are in charge on Earth.
- Illiberal democracy- Basically weak democracy, and its nickname is hybrid regime. It looks like a democracy since it has three branches, elections take place, citizens can vote, there is competition between political parties, and citizen participation is existent. However, the rule of law is lacking, and democratic structures are not highly established.
How do they maintain power?
- Personal Rule- They control by using patrimonialism (rulers give benefits to supporters in exchange for help enforcing their rule), cult of personality (they claim to possess more wisdom and strength than ordinary people), and coercion (use or threat of force) techniques.
- Military rule- They use coercion
- One party rule- Uses corporatism (when a limited number of organizations in representation of the public’s interests controlled by the government), cult of personality, coercion, and surveillance
- Theocracy- Religious law and the “fear of god” is used to control people. For example, Christian states use Canon law, Jewish ones use Halakha, and Islamic states use Sharia.
- Illiberal democracy- Manipulation of elections, coercion, and banning certain people from running in elections are utilized to maintain power
Provide modern examples for each one.
- Personal rule- Vladimir Putin of Russia
- Military rule- Egypt or Myanmar
- One party rule- Cuba, North Korea, China
- Theocracy- Iran, Vatican City, Taliban in Afghanistan
- Illiberal democracy- Russia
