Ideologies in the Modern Era
Ideologies are mechanisms that aim to analyze and clarify the realities of a given age. There are many contradictions that accompany a reality, making it difficult to grasp what it is really about, and in those situations, people prefer to build philosophies that can help them describe and justify such truths. Some ideologies are based on facts, while others are motivated by psychological and emotional factors. It is worth mentioning that philosophies will undervalue and totally misrepresent reality; but, certain people will use them to prove their arguments. In the modern era, ideologies can be said to have brought about more problems than solutions. This essay tries to compare and contrast the main elements of the modern era ideologies; classical liberalism, new liberalism, Marxist socialism, and fascism.
Classical Liberalism
Classical liberalism refers to a philosophy within the political arena built on fundamentals of limited government, free markets, the rule of law and individual liberties. Classical liberalism also embeds the spirit of constitutionalism and due process. The philosophy outlines various approaches in its application such as viewing freedom in the dimensions of freedom of worship or religion, free markets, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press (Conway 6). The philosophy was born in the 18th century among the Americans and British in efforts to combat industrial revolution and the challenges that emanated from urbanization.
Human Nature and Individual Freedom
Regarding human nature, classical liberalism emphasizes more on the individual sovereignty and the rights to own property is a critical element of individual liberty. In due course of time, there was the development of public policy that aimed at minimizing interference with industry and commerce. The classical liberals of the time believed that the major factors that motivate were pain and pleasure and in the absence of the two human beings were inert. Their argument was directed towards individual freedom towards self-interest with zero societal control and restraint. Meanwhile, individuals had the freedom to seek the highest paying jobs. Classical liberalists argue that the greatest reward for labor and capital was only in free markets. Also, the philosophy emphasized that to meet the customers’ demand production had to be organized efficiently. The negative perception of this philosophy as far as humanity was concerned is the inevitability of the poor urban conditions and thus advocated for the concentration of wealth and income in urban areas contrary to redistribution.
The Role of Government and International Collaboration
The philosophy also outlined the roles of the government as internal and external protection from invasion, citizens’ protection from their fellow citizens and development and maintenance of public institutions. In the philosophy’s advocate for peace, it suggested that it was only through international collaboration that the world will attain peace.
New Liberalism
New liberalism tries to address the challenges entangled within classical liberalism, and this defines the difference in the two ideologies. In the modern era, new liberalism philosophy strengthened the corporate elite and the big business power which resulted in the development of policies that regulated corporations.
New liberalism brought about capitalism which was a consequence of speculating excessively in the great depression which is today commonly referred as bubbles bursting. The effect led the government to undertake the role of regulating the economy to prevent such an occurrence in future. The social aspects of the new liberalism exceed those of classical liberalism. New liberalism ideology advocates for high living standards for citizens (Freedman & Michael). The philosophy is more of social equality as compared to classical liberalism as it promotes international peace as well as sustainability.
Marxist Socialism
Many individuals term Marxist socialism theory as economically complex because it is founded on the ideology of struggle for class. The philosophy in this ideology is that in any historical time there must be two dominant classes; the rich and the oppressed as well the existence of a struggle between them. In such occasion, the state is the tool of dominance where there is a change in economic conditions and the dominant class loses its power and the new state of economy shifts power to another class of dominants and as a result a new class the oppressed arises. The process continues and on.
The Marxist socialism is sometimes called the lower-stage communism which refers to a production model based on use-value thus disregarding the law of value in the economic activity. The ideology applies economic planning in production and applies the concept of ‘share as per your contribution’ in productivity distribution. Meanwhile, in this ideology, the working class is the owner of the means of production, and they use it as their source of livelihood. The ownership can either be through cooperatives, private or public ownership. In this way, the accruals of the social surplus go to the working class and the whole society. The theory emphasizes on production for use-value as opposed to production for profit.
Fascism
The Fascist ideology is based on authoritarian nationalism which is guided by a strong aspect of dictatorship, underrating of opposition and government regulation of commerce and industry (Laclau and Ernesto). The ideology terms democracy as out-phased and emphasizes on the one-party movement to enable it to handle the economic difficulties. Fascism disregards the perception of violence as being negative and views war, political violence, and imperialism as critical tools attain national rejuvenation.
Comparison of Ideologies
Each ideology has its elements favorable or unfavorable for the nation and its economic state. Nonetheless, on comparing the ideologies in these philosophies, classical and new liberalism seems outstanding as they define the role of the government, the national freedom and the social welfare of citizens. They also bestow sovereignty to citizens. Socialism, on the other hand, lacks economic sense while fascism undermines democracy and sustainable economic growth. The elements in these ideologies outline the great need for a nation to adopt ideologies that are economically beneficial.
Works Cited
Conway, David. “Classical Liberalism.” Classical Liberalism. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1995. 6-24
Freeden, Michael. “The New Liberalism: an ideology of social reform.” (1982)
Laclau, Ernesto. Politics and ideology in Marxist theory: Capitalism, fascism, populism. New Left Books, 1977
