Ideology is a set of doctrine or beliefs that are shared
among members of a social group or that form the basis for political, economic
or other similar systems. At a fundamental level, ideologies are similar to political
philosophies and at an operative level, they take the form of broad political movements.
There are numerous types of ideologies. Two of the most common ones are
liberalism and conservatism.
Liberalism as a political ideology means that the individual
liberty should be preserved and maximum freedom of choice should be the primary
aim of a representative government. It stresses
on equality of all citizens in the eyes of the law and protects the rights of
every citizen including freedom of speech and expression, right to liberty and equality,
right to practice whatever religion and to own private property.
On the other hand, Conservatism is the political doctrine
that emphasizes on the traditional values and practices as well as personal
responsibilities and limited role of government. This type of system attempts
to maintain an authoritative and hierarchical system in the government. It promotes
free enterprise capitalism and considers ownership of property vital in order
to enable people to scrutinize and measure their independence from the government.
One may want to question that which ideology is better; conservatism
or liberalism? The answer to this question however, cannot be provided by naming
either of the two ideologies. Their similarities
such as rejection to radicalism, agreement regarding restraint on government
power and concerns for individual dignity, enable supporters of each doctrine
to help function simultaneously within the same government framework.
2 comments:
I agree that there's no right and wrong for a particular ideology - there should be a balance among them. It is only then that they can be studied in a realistic context.
Wouldn't you agree that liberalism and conservatism are two opposing ideologies? Some might say mutually exclusive
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