Founding Ideas

Liberalism, socialism and conservatism

political culture

Originates from mix of ideas in which we live and it defines us → creates particularities from place to place.

Liberalism as the “middle”

Key thinkers: A. Smith, $Locke$ , I. Berlin

Core commitment: $individual freedom$

Key concern: $legitimacy$ of (state based) $limitation$(s) to individual liberty.

Conservatism as the “right”

Key thinkers: @@Hume@@ , Burke, Oakeshott

Core commitment: Incremental change , @@change under control@@

Key concern: individualism and other reforms will threaten society or its structure and therefore @@threaten unity@@

socialism as the “left”

Key thinkers: ==Marx== , Engels, Webb(s)

Core commitment: social and democratic control, egalitarian access, ==collective solidarity==

Key concern: domination in capitalist system in production and distribution of wealth does not give individual freedom → only exploitation, ==individual freedom requires economic justice==

Fragment theory

Originally from L. Hartz 1950s→ US, why no socialism, explained by immigration waves and history, l%%ater waves of immigration makes it harder to change initial ideology that was brought.%%

US/CAN difference ?

Why is there socialism/pluralism in CAN and not US?

Horowits 1960s→ studies Hartz but argues that English CAN is a lot more different from the US: ^^CAN has socialism while it is deemed unamerican in the US^^ bc waves of immigrations = more diverse (all still BRITS so at “home” and were not deemed like foreign ideas then) + ^^Canada fundamentally^^ @@conservative@@ which allows for ==socialism== -- ^^Common ground of society/community > individual^^ (contrary to 100% liberal american view)