Political Science 6

Module 1
Lesson 3 MENU OF IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

An i ndividual or a grou p who en ga ges i n politics, wittingly or unw ittingly,

relies on a set of beliefs, principl es, and values about life, the meaning of their
exi stence, the n ature or the orga ni zation of s oci ety, pu rposes of t heir action, and
attitudes a bout social and ec onomic instituti ons. These mental constructs and states
of mind present t o him or to the political group an i deal image of s oci ety and an
accepta ble pattern of social beh avior whic h ca n well form the basis of an ide ology
(idea – logi c or idea s t hat are logically rel ated) that will guide poli tical actions.

Functions of I deology
Ideologies shape pu bl ic poli ci es, impart an ethical basi s to th e exercise of
politi cal power, serve as guides t o poli cy choi ces and political behavior, influence
public opi nion, provide a basis for popul ar support of governments, inject life to
politi cal parties, or m ay even give rise to p oli tical movements se eking fundamental
changes in society.
For ideologies are firm perspective and comprehensive bel iefs of political life
which can be gras ped by pe ople an d convert ed into a mate rial force for cha nge.
But political ideol ogies, as we kn ow t hem tod ay, di d not fully emerge until
recent ti mes (19 t h an d 20 t h cent uries).

Magic and Distortions

In the beginni ng, t he inner w orki ngs of on e’s ow n s ociety were justified and
embodied in myths an d ri tuals establi shed basical ly to secure food for our ancestors
and facilitate the maintenance of a particular social pattern. These magical and
mythical ri tes and explanation s were foisted on the common folks by a particul ar
rul ing group or class i n order t o firm up their rule and sec ure t hem their privileges.
With the pas sage of time, these alleged di vinely ordained s trictures or
commands formed t he backb one of c ommon customs on what peopl e were supp ose d
to do and what t hey shoul d refrain from doing. Certain values were con done and

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encouraged whi le others were tabooed a nd declared unfit to the right orderi ng of
society.
Religion institutionalized this unilateral an d highly skewed sel ection p rocess.
Fai th in a supernat ural being instilled on the loyal subj ects the idea of obedience to a
higher aut hority capable of striki ng back i n the form of ins uffic ient harvests and a
host of ot her c urses.
Al l these mechanisms of social con trol were foun d to be i na dequate especially
when cl ass distinction s hardene d in t he mi dst of mass p overty, and popular rev olts
threatened t he ruling class’s right t o private property a nd privi lege.
Thus l aws ap peared with its conc omitant sa nctions, elegant rhet orics,
pompous magistrates, arroga nt cent urious and forbiddin g jails. Laws were found
necessary to ex plai n a nd defen d an ine quita ble system ridden wit h internal conflicts
and social decay.

History of Struggles
Historians agree t hat the al most universal t heme of h uman history revolves on
the struggles between rep resenta tives of the old ruling classes and t hose of new
insurgent cl asses. The former (t he forces of the past) try to freeze social
relationships w hile the latter (the f orces of the fut ure) attempt t o b reak them down
as hindrance s to w hat they perceive to be social progre ss of their t imes.
The process is charact eri zed by a sequence of c umul ative econom ic and social
strai ns and rapid releases or revol utions. Then, theories of the nature of s oci ety are
examined and reformulated based on t h e interests of the newly- installed social
administrators.
New social interpretati ons therefore ari se during critical peri ods. They start
off with violent criticism of the existing soc ial order and t hen bui ld up new schemes
of people’s rights and duties.
Ancient attitu des, cl assical phil osop hi es an d religions form values, which i n
turn, take t he form of social institutions. But the situation o f man varies from one
society to t he ot her or from one period in a soci ety’s history to th e other.

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Conditions Are Not Pe rmanent
New and more complex societi es make more exacting demands wh ich only the
people who li ve them can satisfy. And so, t he so -call ed accum ulated “eternal values”
of “common” human t radition are n ot expe cted to bli nd fut ure s ocieties. These so-
cal led established truths sh ould n ot be us ed to retard social developments. For
history shows t hat soc iety is always in motion.
To il lustrate furt her, y ou may recall the Roman times and t he age of feudalism
when, despite the complete codi fication of the con di ti ons of s ocial dominati on in
Roman Law – imperial authority an d sec ular cul ture c ollapsed in Western Europe.
The Churc h took over to c ontrol an d regulates almost every aspect of s ocial
life. But in no time at al l – the Christianized hi erarchical ideal of s ociety did not
corre spond to real ity.
The Renai ssance transformation saw criticisms of Luther and C alvin on the
wickedness of Papal rul e and the whole system of oppression of the poor by the ri ch.
Humanist like More, Rabelais, Cervantes, Montaigne an d Shakes p eare were disgusted
by greed an d corrupti on of wealth and pow er duri ng t he period.
To ada pt t he w hole legal and pol itical system the needs of a new economy
based on trade a nd commerce, 16 t h an d 17 t h century jurists an d l awyers l ike
Frenchman Bodi n a nd Groti us formulated laws to extend trade over the wh ole worl d
while preserving the sacred rights of property for t he few.
The rebel lion against the Spa nish King and t he cutting off of King Charles’ head
warranted anot her presentation of society in the t heories of Hob bes deman di ng for a
strong government.
Set u p by t he glorious revol ution of 1688 in England, L ocke (on t he ot her ha nd)
justi fied a type of compromise government that gave all powers to P arli ame nt which
was composed of city merchants a nd landed ari stocrats. These were the pioneers i n
the establishment of t he first p oli tical parties in Bri tain compose of t he new w ealthy
class. All they wanted was securi ty from both the a rbitrary inte rference of the King
(royal power) and us urp ati on of power by the masses from bel ow. They prepa red
themselves to govern in a civi l and legal manner so lon g as t h ey could make and
administer l aws themselves.

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Laissez Faire Economi cs and Li ber al Politics
Theories on the nat ure of 18 t h century society as exposed by Hu me and Adam
Smith conce rne d the mselves with econom ic matters. The former supported new
institutions of ca pi tali sm, while the l atter coi ned the crowning virtue of liberal
economics as “enlightened self -interest.” Smith procl aimed that pursuit of self-
interest coul d result in maximum satisfaction for all. Thus, to “leave al one” (laissez
faire) the business enterprise is a fu nd amental principle that must be upheld,
according t o Smith.
Liberal ism, or ec onomic man’s ri ght t o ca rry out his activities free from all
restrictions, became the justifi cation for the emerging indu stri al capi tali sm of
Bri tain, the United Sta tes and Japa n.
The “providence of God” philosophy of yes ter years and t he “wisdom of t he
pri nces” j ustification for social cont rol b ecame passed an d t he rational, liberal
worl dview of the Enlightenment spel led out what is normal and ac cepted.
But t he horror and misery unde rlying fact ory productions a nd t he smu gness
and gree diness perpet uated by capitalism did n ot remai n unnoticed. Social insecurity
(worse ned by famine, pestilence and i gn orance) i n the most flourishing c ommercial
centers somewhat bet rayed an u ncomfort ab le feeling that s omething was wrong.

Humanism to S ocialism
The romanti c protest s of Blake, Byron, Shelley and novelist Dickens were
voices against tyrann y and the grindin g poverty of the period of the period. The
somewhat ra dical philos op hies of Robert Owen, the Chartists ’ bi d to ac hieve political
and economi c l iberty, an d the ut opian socialism of Saint- Si mon and Fourier failed to
effect any signi ficant change in the dominat ion of capital.
Essentiall y l acking in their set of beliefs, was an unde rstandi ng of the workings
of soci ety sufficient to ena ble the clearl y desirable chan ges t o be brought ab out.
Instead of t heir prop osed solution of tu rni ng t o the past t o redeem the h uman
conditi on, an alternat ive counterpoint t o t he mi serable pli ght of the masses under
capitalism was still to be formulated.

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 The German idealist phil osophy of Kant, Goethe, Sc helli ng, Hegel and Ludwig
Feuerbach’s materialism exposed the inne r natu re of c ontemp ora ry society. Karl
Marx fused all these influences int o a coherent and esse nti all y new theory of society
that today guides the poli tical programme of an increasing num ber of governments
and political parties.

Parties Peculiarity
Being part of the Third World (u nderdeveloped Asi a, Africa and L atin America),
the Phil ippine pol itical system i s in the midst of a political compe tition t hat wi ll only
relatively stabilize in the near fut ure whe n the most responsive politi cal force i n
society wins over the op portu ni st an d anti-change political groupi ngs.
We frequently descri be a particular govern ment, ideology, individual, or group
as lefti st, “whil e we refer t o others as cen trist” or “righti sts.” Wh ere di d t hese terms
come from? What d o they imply?

Political Labeli ng
As stu dent s and observers of t he p ol itical scene, we are obl iged or expected t o
ascertain in precise te rms where a p oli ti cal force (i ndivi dual, group or party) bel ongs
in the politi cal sp ectr um (left- to-ri ght orderi ng of political ideologies). Our goal i s to
impart some conce ptual orde r to our unde rstandin g of t he current political
competition.
We must, at the same time, be cauti ous of the ri sk i nvol ved in political
labeling which through the years has ac quired a negati ve con not ation. It stereotypes
certain political beliefs and may distort t he different s ha des in the political spectrum
if used in a swee pi ng manner. D escripti ons t hem must be accu rate a nd not
misleading.
Label ing can be a positive exercise or a con structive analytical tool that woul d
help pe ople u nderstand poli tical forces better. Proper classi fication a nd accurate
identification with t heir respective pec uliar characteristics are a must in our st udy of
politi cal parti es and t heir respective ideologies.

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 According t o Reuben Lardizabal , the origi n of t he terms “Left” and “Right” has
three versions:
First version – that t he terms originated in England where the British Parli ament
divi ded itself into two chambers (the l ower H ouse of Commons located on the left
side of t he sessi on hal l, while the uppe r House of Lords was on t he ri ght). T hose on
the left side were progressive because t hey wanted ch an ge; while on the othe r ha nd,
the barrons an d ot h er members of the English peerage on t he right sought to
preserve the statu s qu o (the existing political system).
Second version – t h at the terms came i nto use i n 1830, a year before G erman
philosophe r Fre derick Hegel died. His di sciples became known as (1) the Hegelian
Left who repre sented conservative thought. Five years after his death, the Left
became the materialist (scientific) wing, w hil e the Right was descri bed as an idealist
wing tained with religious un dert ones.
Third and wi dely accepte d “p artisan distribution of se ats” versi on – tha t before t he
actual 1789 outburst of t he French Rev olut ion, several political parties were formed
in the National Asse mbly: the Jabobins (most radical reformers – t hose w ho go
deeper t o the roots of probl ems in searc h of ex planation s an d s ol utions) stayed on
the left side of the chamber; while the most conservative parties (especi all y the
nobles) stayed on t he right si de.
We learned i n the first part of thi s lesson that historical events especially
those related t o ec on omics or prod uctive relations and socio-pol itical ideas i nteract.
Each of the major political belief system n ow c ompeting for people’s acceptance
shoul d thus be percei ved based on thei r historical contex t.

Spectrum of P ol itical Attitudes

We earlier made mention of p oli tical “spectrum” as a usefu l tool in our
analysi s of the various political belief systems or ideol ogies. It uses a left-to -right
relationship or hori zontal continuum that predicts a pattern of poli ti cal colors (or
personal ities) that symbol izes a group’ s basic val ues and concepts, its political
outlook, its class bi as (or tende ncy or sympa thy), and t he form of action t o a dvocates
in the achievement of its goals.

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 The three basic elements of a political bel ief system are the con nected (1)
values or beliefs of w hat i s good or ba d, (2) assum ptions or thin gs taken t o be t rue
without necessity or pos si bili ty of proof, a nd (3) concept or wa ys of l ooki ng at the
politi cal world that hel ps people to identify and organize relevant “facts” and
understand t heir meani ng.
Political Outlook re fe rs to t he way of t hinking and p ositioning of an individual
or a group vi s-à -vis change, statu s quo an d s oci al justice or expl oitation.

Structuralists
In terms of values and outl ook, the left has been perceived a s: (1) bi ased
towards human ri gh ts; (2) i nclined towards egalitarianism or vi ewpoint that men are
equal; (3) champions of structural change (bordering on t he total overhaul of t he
social system of a particular society); (4) oppose d to the oppressi ve conditions of the
social order; (5) mod ern- day missi onaries who seek t o end all forms of expl oitation
such as foreign d omination an d elite (a select group of s ocially superi or individuals)
rul e and pave t he way toward parti cipatory democracy.

Preservatives
The conse rvative or the Right, on the othe r hand: (1) are oppos ed to social
change; (2) wa nts t o maintain the established order of i njustice and i nequ al ity; (3)
are inclined to depend property right s; (4) favors elitism and p ol itical stratification;
and (5) calls for the n arrowest distri bution of wealth, stat us an d power since people,
according t o them, are basicall y domi nated by self- interest and are not really capable
of underst anding t hei r true publi c i nterest and should be guided by a government of
the few wh o are kn owl edgeable and suc cess ful.

Rationalist
Liberal s or t he l eft- of -center are basi cally peopl e wh o believe that li ves can be
improved through t he use of re ason. They al so believe that all people are essentially
equal even though th ey have widel y diverse charac teristics. They generally respect
the basic structures of the political system (including its laws) ev en as they are fully

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aware of certain aspects or part s of the sys tem whi ch are iniquitous , oppressive and
unjust. Pressed to the wall, they usual ly wi ll not resort to violati ng the law by may
opt to alter it through legal proce dures even if s uch are ci rc uitous an d may prove
ineffective. They generally have a high t olerance attitu de for people on t he left.

Options Ope n: Non-En tities

The moderates, or the centrists are largely sati sfied with goings on in society
although t hey may a gree that there is room for improvement and may rec ogni ze
several specifi c areas in need of modi fication. What ch aracteristics them as a group
is their unwillingness or i nabil ity to commit themselves to a pol itical posi tion. This
basic atti tude to e qui vocation is reflected in their stock rema rk whenever asked t o
comment or take a posi ti on: “Each has its good points.” They t hus take what ap pears
to be a n objective stance (one that al lows t hem to see both slides) and cleverly worm
their way out , never really taki ng a position at all.
The forces of the Center are highly ambigu ous and a re t he most unst able
because of their inhe rent transitory ch arac ter. They are prove t o shift indecisively
until they settle, alb eit temporarily, on either the Left of the Right s phere. T he
Center may thus be likened t o a political gy psy cau ght in t he middle of an ideological
tug-of -war.

Class Bias
This concept is used t o refer t o the social class a politi cal force is in favor of
putting in p ower. Class bias is determined not solely from class origin but more s o to
class sympathy. The Left has cl ass bias in favor of t he workin g class and t he lower
classes (speci ficall y indust rial and a gricultural workers, la ndless, farmers, s usten ance
fisherman, market an d si dewalk vendors, t he urban poor, an d ot her sect ors th at l ive
below the p overty l ine).
In contrast, the Right i s sympathetic to the rul ing class – the governin g elite
composed of the capital – and prop erty-owning population – particul arly
businessmen inv ol ved i n large-scale industri es an d tra nsn at ional corporations,

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landlords of big agricul tural plantations an d other sect ors within the high income
level.
The Centers, bec ause of its c ompromising natu re, te nds t o please more the
interests of the mi ddle class, particularly entrepreneu rs of small and medium- scale
industri es, small l andowners, trial lawyers, professi onals, teachers and the like.
These clarificatory de fini tions of indi vi dual, groups and poli tical parties in the
politi cal spectrum are very general and suggestive rather th an definitive. The
continuum in the s pectrum is a relati ve one set by t oday’s circumstances an d the
relative satisfactions of diffe rent people with present conditions. The wh ole
continuum can move over time. Moreov er, each of the thre e major ideological
categories has a number of vari ant s which may sli de to the right or left, an d shade
into each ot her (just as col ors do on a sp ectrum). For p oli tical reali ty is after all
much less clear an d consistent th an w hat thi s lesson purports t o p ortray.

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Political Science 6
Module 1, Lesson 3

SELF -PRO GRESS CHECK TEST

Direction: Multipl e Choice. Write the let ter correspondi ng to the best answer to
each of the following statem ents:

1. Al l human bein gs are capa ble of reason and rati onal acti on , but t hey are
caught in difficult situations. Because all peopl e have the capacity to live
sati sfactory and prod uctive lives if given the cha nce, government must insure
that everyone h as the chance t o fulfil l hi s or her individual potential.

a. Conservatism
b. Liberalism
c. Socialism
d. Humanism

2. Ideology
a. Offers a cri ti que of th e existing system and a vi ew of the ideal sys tem.
b. Is a comprehen si ve system of beliefs an d attitude s about s ocial and
economic insti tutions and processes.
c. Suggests a means for moving from the exi sti ng t o the ideal system .
d. Al l of the a bove.

3. Among the chief feat ures of this “ism” are the three intermed iate stages,
wherein society is divided into two classes: those wh o own t he means of
produ ction a nd do wh o d o not. Class st ruggle is inevitable.

a. Marxist socialism
b. Humanism
c. Liberalism
d. None of the above

4. The relationship between economi c con diti ons and the political choi ces we
make

a. Feudalism
b. Politi cal economy
c. Sociology
d. Al l of the a bove

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5. Which of t he following generalizations are valid when contrast ing socialistic
with capitalistic systems?

a. Mostly capital istic systems, suc h as t he Uni ted States, offer thei r citizens
greater li berty to seek whatever employment they wi sh; mostly socialistic
systems usuall y offe r greater certainty of e mployment.
b. Capital ist systems normal ly provide greater material rewards to those who
are ambiti ous an d clever; social istic system provides them to th ose who are
cooperati ve and willi ng to accept bureaucra tic work n orms.
c. The citizen in the mos tly socialistic state may recei ve a wide ra nge of st ate
benefits from cradle to grave; the citizen of the m ostly capi talisti c state
cust omarily receives less state assistance b ut i s all owed to carry efforts to
secure pers onal gai n.
d. Al l of the a bove.

6. This “ism” asserts that ordi nary men and women are entitled to satisfact ory
lives, but that indi vidual liberti es, incl uding the right to pros pe r from one’s
efforts, shoul d not be curtai led. It suggests that government sh ould intervene
to help but s hould never curb free dom. The se statements identify .
a. Democrati c social ism
b. Liberalism
c. Fascism
d. Marxist socialism

7. He asserted that ec onomic fact ors s hape and mold our political and s ocial
reali ty.
a. Karl Marx
b. Plato
c. John Locke
d. Jean Jacques Rousseau

8. Charles Fourier stress ed the importance of community and recommended the

formation of small , voluntary as sociations of producers, “h umanizing econ omic
life by chan gi ng its p urpose f rom un bri dled i ndivi dual profit -seeking t o a more
secure bal ance betwe en indi vidual well -being a nd social stabil ity.”
a. Anarchism
b. Utopian socialism
c. Capital ism
d. Conservatism

9. Expresse d general set s of ideas are

a. Values
b. Conce pts
c. Actions
d. Belief systems

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10. Ideologies
a. Are all total ly political.
b. Have little bearing on the l arger question of defining human nature.
c. Usuall y have as much to say a b out economic and s ocial relations hi ps as
they do about matters that are pu rel y pol itical .
d. Are more c on cerned w ith social rather t ha n political matters.

11. Intensity of oppositi on to t he stat us qu o in creases as one moves furt her

a. To the ce nter
b. To the left or right of status quo
c. To the left
d. Al l of the a bove

12. Those w ho adhere t o t hi s “ism” have a certain bias i n favor of exi sti ng political
systems; if they do envision a better sy stem, they are l ikely to refer t o
previous systems for its components. I f change is needed, it should be
cautiously approached .
a. Conservatism
b. Feudalism
c. Colonial ism
d. Capital ism

13. The closer pe ople are to t he st atus quo, t he less impatient an d frustrate d t hey
are and the m ore s ocial ly acceptable are th eir methods.
a. True
b. Fal se
c. Both true an d false
d. No implication can be gathered from the sta tement

14. Which political term means taking a p ositi ve view of human nat ure a nd
believing that change and progress are b oth necessary an d p ossible?
a. Authoritari anism
b. The left
c. The right
d. Fascism

15. Vi olence or d oi ng inj ury or damage t o people or property is used by people or

adhere nts of
a. The left
b. The right
c. The center
d. Al l of the a bove

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16. This ideology evolved out of concerns for t he suffering ca use d b y the human
exploitation of other humans. T he most i mportant characteristics of h uman
nature is each i ndivi dual’s natural sociability. Adherents believe that huma n
beings re adily engage in cooperati ve social a ctivi ty. When given a chance.
a. Liberalism
b. Pri mitive communalism
c. Capital ism
d. Socialism

17. They are basical ly opposed to the political system that governs t hem. They are
apt t o see t he law (that sets forth the pu rposes, goals an d structure of the
society) as one way in which th ose w ho control society maintai n their control.
Hence, they find i t hard to respect the law.
a. The liberal
b. The conservative
c. The radical
d. Al l of the a bove

18. Which of t he f ollowing terms us ually connotes a somewhat pessimistic view of

human nature and a convi ction th at i t i s importa nt to maintai n tradition and
orde r?
a. Dialectical materi alism
b. The political “right”
c. The class struggle
d. None of the above

19. The n otion of the ne cessity and prop riety of each pers on seek ing hi s own
survival and sati sfac tions. It c onjures images of s plendid is olati on; t hat
fulfillment is to be fou nd in not having t o depend on anyone for an ything.
a. Individualism
b. Socialism
c. Fascism
d. None of the above

20. The ci tizen can prosp er onl y when t he nati on pros pers; t he fate of t he nation
comes before that of its people. Those who su bsc ribe to this ideol ogy think
that s ome human bei ngs are naturally better tha n others , b ut for them being
“better” means belonging t o the “right” race or nationality.
a. Capital ism
b. Feudalism
c. Humanism
d. Fascism

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