Philippine Politics & Governance – Lesson 2 Notes

Guiding Question on Resistance to Change

• Why do individuals refuse political changes/innovations? (Critical thinking prompt)

  • Possible factors: entrenched interests, fear of uncertainty, ideological commitments, cultural/traditional values.

Conceptual Foundations

What Are Ideas?

• Abstract constructs that guide individual behaviour and collective action.

• Serve as raw material for building coherent doctrines/ideologies.

• Illustrative ideas

  • Raising literacy: free education, infrastructure, curriculum reform, decolonised yet globally competitive programs.

  • Extending life expectancy: universal health care, scholarships for health workers, preventive environmental measures.

  • Increasing student participation: (example left incomplete in transcript but implies student-centric governance initiatives).

From Ideas to Ideology

• Questions people ask to turn ideas into doctrine:

  • How do anti-dictatorship activists conceptualise equality?

  • How do anti-trans-violence protesters frame justice?

  • How do policy-makers opposing church–state separation define governance?

Definitions

• Ideology – coherent set of beliefs shaping one’s view and interaction with the world.

• Political Ideology – specific subset defining political activity, policy, government, and economy; prescribes what society is/should be.

Linear Political Spectrum (Baradat 2012)

• Arranged LEFT → CENTER → RIGHT across attitudes to status quo

  • Left: Radical → Liberal

  • Center: Moderate / Status Quo

  • Right: Conservative → Reactionary

Comparative Traits

• LEFT

  • Personal liberty & human rights focus.

  • Government-regulated market; state control of essential services.

  • Goal: egalitarian society.

  • Extreme: Libertarian left (limited state in private matters) → Anarchism (dismantle state).

• CENTER

  • Synthesises left & right; pursues balance and incremental change.

  • Maintains status quo yet may lean center-left or center-right.

• RIGHT

  • Primacy of state/common good over individual.

  • Free, unregulated markets; strong rule of law.

  • Often nationalistic, pro-military; extreme end = Totalitarianism.

Major Ideologies Plotted on Spectrum (Joven 2020)

• Anarchism — Socialism — Social Democracy — Liberalism — Centrism — Neoliberalism — Conservatism — Reactionism — Fascism.

Comparative Table of Ideologies & Policy Illustrations

• Anarchism

  • Aim: Stateless, voluntary societies, direct democracy.

  • Policies: Zapatista juntas (Mexico); Rojava communes; Catalan worker collectives $1936$.

• Socialism

  • Public ownership, central planning.

  • Policies: Cuban nationalised industries; USSR Five-Year Plans; Vietnamese agrarian reform.

• Social Democracy

  • Socialist reforms inside capitalist democracy.

  • Policies: Universal healthcare (Sweden); free university (Finland); paid parental leave (Norway); progressive taxation (Denmark).

• Liberalism

  • Individual rights, equal access to basic services.

  • Policies: Affordable Care Act (USA); compulsory free education laws; Social Security Act $1935$.

• Neoliberalism

  • Free markets, deregulation, reduced state role.

  • Policies: Thatcher-era privatisation (UK); NAFTA; IMF/World Bank structural adjustment; Reaganomics $1980s$.

• Conservatism

  • Stability, tradition, religion, law & order.

  • Policies: War on Drugs (USA $1980s–$present); anti-divorce/anti-abortion laws (Philippines, Poland); Duterte police modernisation.

• Reactionism

  • Return to “golden age” hierarchies.

  • Policies: Restoration of French monarchy post-Napoleon; Iran’s $1979$ Islamic Theocracy; blasphemy-law resurgence.

• Fascism

  • Ultra-nationalist, authoritarian, anti-liberal democracy.

  • Policies: Nazi Germany $1933–1945$; Mussolini’s corporatist Italy; propaganda and purges targeting opposition.

Multi-Dimensional Spectrum (Authoritarian–Libertarian vs Economic Left–Right)

• Quadrants:

  • Authoritarian-Left

  • Authoritarian-Right

  • Libertarian-Left

  • Libertarian-Right

• Visual in transcript lists myriad niche ideologies (e.g., Stalinism, Neo-Nazism, Minarchism, Eco-Anarchism, Techno-Libertarianism), highlighting ideological diversity beyond 1-D left/right continuum.

Reflection & Discussion Questions

1. Which ideology resonates personally with you?

2. Which ideology is dominant in Philippine institutions? (e.g., conservative–centrist mix, with emergent neoliberal policies.)

3. How can ideologies foster Philippine social development? (e.g., guiding reforms, framing civic action, shaping welfare policy.)

Assignment Topics for Deeper Ideological Analysis

• $1.$ Abortion

• $2.$ Sex trade/work

• $3.$ Free trade

• $4.$ Progressive taxation

• $5.$ Labor-union protections

• $6.$ Education reform & PPPs

• $7.$ Environmental policy (carbon taxes, green-tech incentives)

• $8.$ Deregulation/privatisation & anti-mandate health stance

• $9.$ Trans rights laws

Select Numerical References

• Phone placeholder in slide: $123\text{-}456\text{-}7890$ (context: slide design).

• Key years: $350\,BCE$ (Aristotle original), $1762$ (Rousseau), $1919$ (Weber), $1932$ (Schmitt), $1933–1945$ (Nazi regime), $1953$ (Easton), $1958$ (Arendt), $1962$ (Crick), $1980s$ (War on Drugs; Reaganomics), $1986$ (EDSA), $1979$ (Iran), $2003$ (Machiavelli reprint).

Ethical, Philosophical & Practical Implications Highlighted

• Equality vs liberty tensions across spectra.

• Role of the state in welfare, security, and moral regulation.

• The danger of authoritarian drift (reactionary/fascist examples) vs. instability of radical change (anarchist aspirations).

• Real-world relevance: Philippine protests and policy debates illustrate living laboratory of ideological contestation.

References (as cited on Slide 27)

• Aristotle (Politics), Lasswell (Who Gets What, When, How), Weber (Politics as a Vocation), Easton, Schmitt, Crick, Arendt, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau.