Comprehensive Study Guide: Political Ideologies, Political Parties, and Party Systems

Political ideology

A coherent set of beliefs and values regarding how society should be organized, how power should be distributed, and what goals a government should pursue.

John Locke

English philosopher recognized as the father of classical liberalism who argued for natural rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as government by consent.

John Stuart Mill

Political thinker who championed individual liberty and free speech, formulating the harm principle which states freedom should only be limited to prevent harm to others.

Social Democracy

An ideology advocating for social justice and a strong welfare state within a capitalist framework through democratic legislative reform rather than revolution.

Eduard Bernstein

Socialist theorist who championed evolutionary socialism, arguing that socialist goals could be achieved gradually through democratic political processes.

Communism

An ideology grounded in class struggle that calls for the complete abolition of private property, collective ownership of production, and a classless, stateless society.

Fascism

A far-right authoritarian ideology characterized by ultranationalism, dictatorial leadership, state corporatism, and forcible suppression of opposition.

Benito Mussolini

Founder of Italian Fascism who declared total state supremacy with the motto 'Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.'

Environmentalism

An ideology holding that the natural world has intrinsic value, prioritizing sustainability, ecological balance, and intergenerational justice over unlimited industrial growth.

Political party

An organized group of citizens with shared political beliefs seeking to gain and exercise governmental control by contesting elections.

Party system

The structural arrangement, relative power dynamics, and patterns of interaction and competition among political parties in a given state.

RRAMSPEA

An acronym representing the eight core functions of political parties: Representation, Recruitment, Aggregation, Mobilization, Socialization, Policy Formulation, Electoral Organization, and Accountability.

Primary difference between political parties and interest groups

The former seeks to directly hold office by running candidates in elections, whereas the latter seeks only to influence government policy without holding public office.

Turncoatism

The practice of frequent political party-switching, often observed when politicians join whichever party holds executive power to secure political advantages.