Session 13: Political Ideologies

Ideologies are a set of ideas that establish a base for political action. Since everyone has a different way of perceiving things, it is no surprise that there are many different ideologies.

Conservatism revolves around the concept of keeping tradition alive – basically it is the desire to ‘conserve’. It is a somewhat pessimistic view of people because it states they are in need of familiarity and order and cannot accept change.

Followers of this political ideology argue that if things were going well in the past, then following the same stream will lead to a bright future. In America, for instance, followers of Conservatism may focus on how most people are provided with basic necessities and even though there are ‘poor’ people, the proportion is lower than most countries. Therefore their line of argument may be that no change is necessary and subsequently any alterations will only lead to a worse scenario.

Liberal people are tolerant and seek freedom. The concept of individualism, highlighted in Liberalism, focuses on how everyone is unique. These people recognize that there needs to be new procedures and laws because the world is evolving.

Both ideologies seem to be at the opposite ends – perhaps there should be a middle ground where positive points of both ideologies can be drawn together?