This chapter mainly concerns with

the concept and nature of an ideology.

More specifically, this focuses on political
ideology.
In this context, we are going to
discuss some of them one by one to
understand their similarities and
differences. Hence, the chapter would
clear the significance of ideology in
creating a better country and society.
GROUP ACTIVITY- “Kwentong-Bahay”
for 15 minutes
Divide the class by giving
numbers to each student 1 to 5. Have
each student go to their group that has
his/ her number. All students with
number 1 go to 1, etc.
Select a volunteer to share their
collaborated efforts.
Questions:
1. How do your parents manage your
household?
2. What are the things you wish to
change the way your household is
managed? Why?
What is an Ideology?
Each one of us has our own
perspectives in life. This a result of
our upbringing and context. Basically,
we differ our perspectives because
we have a unique experiences and
different understanding of these
experiences.
 This would result into the
formation of our own beliefs
and convictions that will guide
us in our everyday life. On
other words, this is how we
form our ideology?
 An ideology is a comprehensive
belief system that allows us to
describe, understand and interpret the
world. Similarly, an ideology is our
world-view. This is how we see the
world. It is important to have clear
ideology in trying to analyse what is
happening in our world because this is
our guiding principle.
Ideology
• a systematic body of concepts
especially about human life or
culture
• a manner or the content of
thinking characteristic of an
individual, group, or culture
 In light of the political aspect
of life, we have our political
ideology. A political ideology is
our point of view regarding a
political life. Probably, the most
important group to have a political
ideology would be a political
party.
 A political party is a social
movement that has interest in
gaining political power. It
aggregates the individual political
interest of individual members.
Without clear ideology, butterfly
politics will occur most of the time.
 Butterfly politics means the
right small human intervention in
an unstable political
system can sooner or later have
large complex reverberations.
 Political turncoatism or butterfly
politics is a political phenomenon
that describes a part member
jumping from one party to
another. Just like a butterfly that
will go to one flower to another
because the previous flower has
no more nectar.
 Usually, this can be
observed when candidate goes
to another political party
because he/she was not
satisfied with his/her previous
party.
Left-wing Ideology
1. Liberalism
The ideology of liberalism is
quite popular. Liberalism is an ideology
that emphasizes individual freedom
and participation. To further
understand this, let us look at its
perspective in relation to different
aspects of human behaviour:
 Sweden was cited as being the
most liberal country, with more public
welfare services, while countries such
as Ireland, France and Portugal were
found to be more conservative. In
general Scandinavian countries were
the happiest countries and were also
the most liberal. (Denmark, Norway,
and Sweden)
Political:
Liberalism views that human
beings must be given freedom to
choose their leaders and
government officials. Hence, the
conduct of elections is an
important activity in political
liberalism.
 Moreover, the protection of
the natural rights of man (right to
life, right to liberty, and right to
property) is also given
significance in this ideology. In
this context, political participation
is given more weight than that of
government intervention.
Economic

Economic liberalism also

emphasizes individual freedom
in the market. It assumes that
human beings are rational and
value-maximizers.
Social
Social liberalism assumes
that individual freedom and rights
must be emphasized. They should
given a chance to participate in
conduct of governance with
minimum state intervention.
 The practice of their
rights must be given utmost
importance so that society will
function well.
2. Socialism
The ideology of socialism is close
to the utopia of communism. As Karl
Marx has analysed, socialism is the
stage of before communism.
With such rule, private property
will be abolished and equality will be
achieved.
 Below, you will see some of the most
socialistic nations in the world today:
• China
• Denmark
• Finland
• Netherlands
• Canada
• Norway
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• Belgium
To further illustrate the assumptions of
socialism, here are the beliefs of socialism:
Political:
In the political side, socialists still
believe in the existence of a state.
However, the state is controlled by
proletariat class (s the social class that
does not have ownership of the means of
production and whose only means of
subsistence is to sell their labor power
for a wage or salary) and not the elites.
 Hence, the main purpose of
the state here is to slowly wither
away by assuring equality and
freedom for everyone. This is the
reason why the rulers will use the
power of the state to make sure
that they can reach the ideal of
communism.
Economic:
In the light of economy,
there is no private property
anymore. Everything is owned by
the state. The state shall gradually
distribute the property to
everyone in an equal manner.
Social
Socialism emphasizes equality
in society. In this sight, socialism
assumes that there is no need for the
private property because each one
would get his/her fair share. This
would allow more freedom and
capability for an individual.
3. Anarchism
Basically, anarchism is
considered as one of the most
extreme, if not the most extreme,
left-wing political ideology. Its
belief in the absence of a central
authority makes it a stateless
ideology that believes in chaos.
 To define anarchy, it is a
situation wherein there is no
central authority to regulate the
behaviour of society.
The following are the main assumptions
of anarchism:
Political:
The anarchists believe that there
is no need for a state to regulate the
behaviour of human beings. There is
no need for such situation because man
is capable of self-governance.
Economic:
Anarchists value individual
freedom, choice and preference in
their economic life. The market
should not dictate the behaviour of
individuals. In fact, the individual
preferences would control how
markets should operate.
Social
Again, individual freedom is at
heart of anarchism. There are norms
and rules in society but, there is no
need to coerce individuals to follow it.
The reason is that they are naturally
good and will not do anything harmful
to their fellow men.
Right-wing Ideology
1. Conservatism
Essentially, the political ideology
of conservatism focuses on the idea
that the status quo or the current
situation is best one.
 For conservatives, change is
not good. Thus, it is better to
maintain status quo rather than
change it.
To further understand this
political ideology, here are the
following assumptions:
Political:
The state should do
everything in its power to
maintain status quo. In this case,
the state can use force or coercion
to make sure that the traditions of
the state is followed.
Usually, conservatives promote
the idea of monarchy since the
sovereign or monarch (king or
queen) must maintain the status
quo. The reason is that their
legitimacy is based on the
traditions.
Economic:
In the economy, the
conservatives propose a
traditional kind of economy. The
economy must be controlled by
the state so that it can control and
regulate economic activities.
Social:
Society is repressed by
traditions in this ideology. There is
not much room for liberty
because everything should be
done in accordance to the culture.
2. Nationalism
Nationalism refers to the belief
system where people believe that the
belong to ne nation or people.
Consequently, nationalists see the
importance of the state in protecting its
own against anyone in not part of the
nation.