The political philosophies overview

Anarchism is a political philosophy very close in its final vision of society to Communism, in spite of the fact that Marx was very hostile to the program of the anarchists that counted on political assassin-ation and/or a General Strike of the working class to usher in its system of non-governance by which is meant that everyone would take part in governing so that no one person ro group could ac-cummulate power.

Anarchism is not the same as chaos.  It has a program and de-sign to fulfill true individualism by liberating people from hierarchy. It has deep intellectual roots in the works of Georges Sorel, Michael Bakunin and Noam Chomsky.

Socialism is an end in itself for people who adhere to its basic tenets, but not to Communists who see it as a transitional period on the way to Communism, which is a decentralized system of worker owner-ship of all the means of production. Under Communism goods would be produced for use not for profit.  Like Socialism is would be a direct demo-cracy in which all decisions would be made by the people themselves in bodies of rotating elected representatives organized at the local level and ascending to regional and international bodies. Communism has no hierarchy and no income variation.  It is an eqalitarian society. Modern-day communism derives from the Communist Manifesto written by

Karl Marx and Friedrich

Engels in 1848 and elaborated by Lenin and Mao.  There has never been a nation of Communism.

Socialism, sometimes re-ferred to as democratic socialism, is a system of 

National ownership of the means of production (that is, the financial and manufacturing industries of the country.  The purpose of taking these out of private control is to distribute the products and services equally among the popu-lation.   A socialist does not

Believe in private owner-

Ship of business, but does allow for some degree of 

private ownership of per-

sonal property and goods.  Socialists believe in a flat-

tening of the hierarchy and  equal “access” rather than equal “opportunity” to all the benefits of society.  Basic human rights, including educa-tion, health care, a job, food, water, paid vacations, guaranteed income, salaries paid by the State, a shorter workweek are part of its Platform as well as direct, not representative, democracy.

The best way to think of this ideology is to read the United States Constitution which was written in 1787 when Liberalism was the emerging doctrine of Western European political thinking and still vying with the other ideologies on this continuum for domination. It is based on individualism and liberty, the right to property, inheritance, accumulation of wealth and capital and contract.  It supports a representative system of governance, elections, constitutionalism (limitation of government power), freedom of expression, political rights and economic freedom.  It upholds a hierarchy of power with open but  limited equal opportunity to advance.  Over the years, a portion of its proponents have adopted an expanded view of social responsibility to include public education and welfare.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United

States subscribe to the basic philosophy of Liberal Democracy.

Theorists include Adam Smith,Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, John Locke.

The root of the word Con-servatism is to conserve so it stands to reason that people who adhere to this doctrine have something to hold on it such as pro-

perty, wealth, status or power. It equates with the

status quo or leaving life as it is without change.   A conservative is another rung removed from classes without anything to conserve and believes that a stable hierarch with not much mobility is the way order is sustained.  Liberty is more important than equality tradition is sacred, religion is central and elitism endemic.  Law and authority loom large in this political ideology and any measures of government protection such as social security or unemployment benefits, not to mention medical care, would be anathema, to a conservative Leading theorists include Edmund Burke, and Milton Friedman.

Although there are a few notable individuals attached to the left side of this spectrum, particularly to the last

Ideology, Anarchism,

who call themselves Libertarians, the bulk of the subscribers to this ideology fall solidly on the right due to a rejection of all govern-

ment interference in their lives.  The Party Platform calls for the abolition of all taxes, the reversal of all regulations of industry, gun laws, market controls and welfare measures.

In other words, the end of a central govern-

ment except for main-

taining the military.

Libertarians would be on the side of a privacy to have an abortion, decriminalization of all drug laws and prostitution.  They would be against public school funding, retirement and unemployment. 

Fascism is a system of extreme racism and elitism.

It rejects liberalism and communism in all forms, representative government and civil rights for

any group in society that does not  conform to the characteristics of the white elite of the nation.  This includes Jews, Catholics, non-white, minorities, Roma (Gypsies), homosexuals.   Arising out of the rubble of the First World War and Great Depression of the 1930s, Fascism took hold among discontented and desperate people looking for someone to blame for their economic and social collapse.  From hier-archy to hate, from discrimination to extermination,

Fascist leaders propel this disgruntled population into unspeakable atrocities.  Fascism is not incompatable with free market Capitalism or with the ability of the elite to weather the crisis and maintain its wealth and social status.