Ideology Notes
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Your beliefs about human nature and the world you live in affect the way you feel about society.
Society is organized in such a way that it reflects the beliefs of people and it helps them to reach
their goals. These beliefs and goals are called ideology. All the worlds political and economic
systems are explained and justified by ideology.
Ideology colours your perception of the world you live in, and it reflects your beliefs about
human nature and society. Ideology also influences your beliefs about how society should be
organized and governed.
Ideology supplies the key to classifying the various types of political and economic systems.
The simplest method of classification is to arrange the different systems along a continuum or
spectrum. This achieves two things. It shows you where the various systems are in relation to
each other. It shows you that elements of one system may blur into another as well.
Keep in mind that the
concept of ideology is both
abstract and complex. A
spectrum provides a starting
point for our understanding,
but it is not a definitive tool
for identifying ideology.
In reality, modern economies and political systems fit
somewhere in between. There is no such thing as a "pure"
economic or political system.
The end points of the continuum or spectrum are ideological
opposites -- individual freedom versus government control.
Political and economic systems deal with this issue on an
ongoing basis.
A continuum is a model -- the end points are ideals. There is
no such thing as absolute freedom or absolute control. Real political and economic systems exist
somewhere in between.
The vertical line below represents a political continuum.
Systems based on freedoms are called Democracies.
Dictatorships are based on government control.
Political Freedom
(Democracy)
Political Control
(Dictatorship)
NOTE: The colours are
not significant, they are
merely used to help you
see how one end of the
continuum is different
from the other.
Ideology Notes
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The horizontal line below represents an economic continuum.
Systems based on individual freedom are called Private Enterprise or Capitalism.
Public Enterprise or Socialism is based on government control.
Economic Control
(Public Enterprise)
(Socialism)
Economic Freedom
(Private Enterprise)
(Capitalism)
Societies have both a government and an economy. By combining the two continuums, you get
a grid that can classify any combination of political and economic systems.
When you examine this grid, please take careful note that democracy and dictatorship are
political systems, but capitalism and socialism are economic systems. They can be combined
in four different ways - as represented by the four different "quadrants" in the diagram below.
Political Freedom
DEMOCRATIC
SOCIALISM
DEMOCRATIC
CAPITALISM
Economic Control
Economic Freedom
COMMUNISM
FASCISM
(Dictatorial
Socialism)
(Dictatorial
Capitalism)
Political Control
Ideology Notes
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Another method for classifying political and economic systems is in terms of the left-right
continuum or spectrum as shown. This type of classification is much more common -- you often
hear and read about "left wing" or "right wing" politics and economics.
Extreme Left
Left
Centre
Right
Extreme Right
How do we go from a grid that clearly shows the four combinations of political
and economic systems to a flat, horizontal line that shows the same thing?
Democratic
Socialism
Democratic
Capitalism
is the same as
Communism
Fascism
(Dictatorial
Socialism)
(Dictatorial
Capitalism)
Exteme Left
Left
Centre Right Extreme
Right
HOW?
First, let's look at the economic spectrum.
This one's easy. It's easy because the line we used to represent the economic spectrum in our
first grid was already flat, so it's easy to convert to our new flat-line spectrum. Check out the
diagram below:
Economic Control
(Public Enterprise)
(Socialism)
LEFT
WING
collectivism
Economic Freedom
(Private Enterprise)
(Capitalism)
RIGHT
WING
individualism
In terms of economic ideology, the left and the right represent different positions on the role of
government in the economy. The left supports government control of the economy. This is called
collectivism because government controls the economy by owning property and directing
economic activity in the interest of the collective welfare rather than individual benefit. On the
other end, the right supports individualism where property is owned by private individuals and
where economic activity is the result of competition by individuals in the marketplace.
Collectivism: an ideology based on the primacy of collective welfare
Individualism: an ideology based on the primacy of individual freedom
Ideology Notes
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Remember, a continuum or spectrum is a model; the end points are ideals. In reality, all modern
economies fit somewhere in between. Although one ideology predominates, economies often
include some elements of the other. Economies that blend the two ideologies are called mixed
economies.
Now let's look at the political spectrum.
In terms of political ideology, this continuum or spectrum is based on change. The left
encourages change while the right resists it. The end points represent extremes of ideology. The
extreme left supports swift, sometimes violent change. The words revolutionary or radical
describe this position. On the other end, the extreme right resists change, sometimes with
violence if necessary. Counterrevolutionary or reactionary describe this position. The extreme
right supports change when change means going back to how things were in the good old days.
- Revolutionary
- Radical
Left Wing
- Counterrevolutionary
- Reactionary
support change
resist change
Right Wing
The centre represents a moderate position that may range from moderate left to moderate right.
Moderates may support change on some issues while resisting it on others. On this continuum or
spectrum, democracy describes the moderate position.
DEMOCRACY
Left
Centre
Right
That takes care of democracy, but where does dictatorship fit? On the horizontal line,
communism is extreme left while fascism is extreme right. They appear to be opposites, but both
are dictatorships. The problem is solved by bending the horizontal line to point out the similarity
between the two dictatorships.
Democracy
Dictatorship
Dictatorship
Ideology Notes
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OK, now let's put it all together.
CHECK OUT THE DIAGRAM BELOW
LEFT-RIGHT IDEOLOGICAL SPECTRUM
- SUMMARY ECONOMIC SPECTRUM
POLITICAL SPECTRUM
Dictatorship
extreme
left wing
left
centre
- revolutionary
- radical
Socialism
(Public Enterprise)
Dictatorship
Democracy
right
extreme
right wing
- counterrevolutionary
- reactionary
extreme
left wing
left
Capitalism
(Private Enterprise)
centre
- collectivism
- interventionist
right
extreme
right wing
- individualism
- noninterventionist
COMBINED POLITICAL & ECONOMIC SPECTRUM
Communism
Democratic
Socialism
(Dictatorial
Socialism)
EXTREME
LEFT WING
LEFT
Democratic
Socialism
Democratic
Capitalism
Democratic
Capitalism
CENTRE
RIGHT
Fascism
(Dictatorial
Capitalism)
EXTREME
RIGHT WING
Do you understand how we combined the economic
and political spectrums to create one, all inclusive,
combined political/economic spectrum?
GREAT!
Communism
Fascism
(Dictatorial
Socialism)
(Dictatorial
Capitalism)
Now that you are starting to understand this method
of classifying ideology, consider the information on
the next page.
Ideology Notes
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Does the ideological spectrum work in the real world?
A spectrum is only a theoretical model; the end points are ideals -- in reality, they don't exist.
We use a model like this in an attempt to help us understand the policies and relationships that
drive politics and economies in the real world. The real world, however, rarely fits into a nice
tidy package that falls at a given point on the spectrum. In fact, it has become increasingly
difficult to apply a label of left wing or right wing to a modern government faced with
changing influences such as globalization, nationalism, ethnicity, and technology.
The complexities and demands of the modern world require greater flexibility on the part of
governments and economies. For example, a government may take a left-wing stance on one
issue, but be decidedly right-wing on another; a government may migrate to a different point on
the spectrum over time; or a government may have an ideological placement at one point on the
spectrum, but exhibit characteristics from another. These scenarios were at times reflected in the
policies and proposed legislation of the Social Credit government under William Aberhart (as
depicted in the Ideology and the News Media learning object), thus making it difficult to find a
fit on the spectrum.
It is also difficult to fit individuals on the spectrum. A person may exhibit a strong left or right
wing belief on a particular issue, but take a more moderate approach to something else. In
addition, its not unusual for a person to change their ideological stance as their knowledge and
experience with the world grows over time.
So, does the ideological spectrum work in the real world?
Yes and no.
No, in that it does not provide a black and white definitive kind of ideological identification
tool. The concept of ideology is not that quantifiable.
Yes, in that it is important to understand that a spectrum model gives us a starting point in trying
to understand the extremely abstract concept of ideology.
