- Click here for the wiki.
- Click here for audio - part one.
- Click here for audio - part two.
A key term discussed at the end of the previous section was “ideology.” It was defined as a set of issue positions based on an underlying value. In contemporary American politics we primarily hear people describe themselves as conservative or liberal. Each has their own idea about the proper basis of governance and what types of policies are best and why. Ideally the use of those terms helps us determine the nature of the positions they hold – it is a useful shortcut for determining what people believe. But there can also be disputes within each ideology about proper public policy, so they are not always completely helpful. Nevertheless, so much of contemporary political debate is wrapped up in those terms that it is essential to get a handle on it. That is the purpose of this section.
For past blog posts on related subject matter:
- Conservatism.
- Conservatives.
- Edmund Burke.
- Fascism.
- Ideology.
- Liberalism.
- Liberals.
- Libertarianism.
- Thomas Paine.
- Political Psychology.
- Populism.
- Socialism.