Can someone explain some 'isms' to me please

[Bumperlicious]

I have certain political believes but am not knowledgable in politics or socio-political history in general, so I was wondering if someone can give me some potted explanations on some of the main political beliefs:

Conservativism
Socialism
Marxism
Communism
Liberalism

And any others you can think of, for me and any other political numpties out there.

Thanks :)

A quick potted explanation accepted by most respected scholars of political science is:

Conservativism - common sense policies that benefit the people and community

Socialism - best summed up by the keen observer of socialism - Margaret Thatcher.
'The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money to spend'

Capitalism - Capitalism and communism stand at opposite poles. Their essential difference is this: The communist, seeing the rich man and his fine home, says: 'No man should have so much.' The capitalist, seeing the same thing, says: 'All men should have so much

Marxism - wants the abolition of private property and an end to religion

Communism - similar to the above

Liberalism - A liberal is a conservative who has been arrested

Doubtless there will be other interpretations, but most scholars accept the above as the core principles.

Ignore claig.

Random trite cliche's is no way to learn about politics. Perhaps if he took time to actually learn something, he wouldn't be so incoherent all the time.

I await ttosca's erroneous interpretation, and please stop calling me a "he" as I am not a bloke like you.

'Random trite cliche's is no way to learn about politics'

It might therefore be advisable to treat ttosca's analysis with a pinch of salt.

Bumper-

Each of these -isms are an ideology, or 'coherent set of beliefs'. So they entail a core set of compatible beliefs around which other ideas are formed and from which policies are made in mind.

Conservatism: Fundamentally, a resistance to change. A belief that there is a 'natural' order in the world and that if any changes are made, they should be done in small, incremental steps. A dislike and fear of big changes and revolutions. A strong belief the need for historical identity - especially national identity. A stress on the importance of the needs and wants of the family and individual over society.

Socialism: Socialism and Communism are sometimes used interchangeably. I will define Communism separately, and define 'Socialism' to mean 'Social-Democracy'.

Social-Democracy: The belief that society can and should be shaped for the welfare of all stakeholders in society. A strong emphasis on the importance on health and education. Whilst preserving Capitalism, the belief that Capitalism must be strongly regulated and kept in check in order to work properly. Capitalism without rules and regulation results in barbarity. Modern nation states like France, Germany and Sweden like to think of themselves as modern 'Social-Democratic' states.

Marxism: An ideology based on the writings of Marx. And there is more than one interpretation possible, as people have been discussing and disputing Marx for over a century. Fundamentally, the belief that the history of the world is a history of class conflict: between slave owner and slave, lord and serf, Capitalist and worker, and that man is capable of shaping his own destiny in the world through struggle, ultimately improving his lot.

Communism: The ideal outcome of historical struggle as believed by a Marxist. Classes have been eradicated, and man is in full control of his potential, having seized the means of production, and is now creating wealth, learning knowledge, and creating technology to serve mankind as a whole, rather than a small percent of the ruling class at the top.

Liberalism: It depends whether you mean the political or economic system of thought. Politically, it stresses the freedoms and rights of the individual over society. The fundamental belief that people can do as they please so long as they harm no one else. Economically, it means laissez-faire Capitalism. The belief that markets are best left to their own, and any interference with the market ultimately is more harmful than good.

Hope this helps. :)

Can't believe you two got sucked into this one. And ttosca. If you wanto win minds you should get a sense of humour. Which claig has. Shame she can't be coopted into serving the only true and worthy cause.

I've voted Labour before, and I may do again one day. Some of the things Scargill says are right, some of the things Miliband says are right and some of the things Maude says are wrong. It all depends what happens in society, how bad things get and who offers the best solutions. Times change and minds change.

glasnost-

Suckered into it? Why, was it a joke?

Sucked into it ttosca not suckered. Freudian slip, methinks. Not a joke but a little divertissement to divert from other more pressing issues maybe.

Can I just correct claig though wrt her capitalist admiring a fancy huge pad and thinking all men should have as much. Err, no. A capitalist looks at it and thinks only a few men should have as much bought thanks to the exploitation and impoverishment of the many.

Thanks for the explanations so far. I should have known it would be controversial. Obviously I understand that there are no simple explanations but I just wanted a foundation so I can understand cultural references.

Philosophical liberalism shouldn't be confused with the liberal party although the liberal party was born out of the ideas of classical liberalism.

Philosophical liberalism is usually attributed to ideas of the French philosopher Rene Descartes. "I think, therefore I am" basically the early liberals sought democratic voting rights as personal freedoms, small government and pure capitalism/free markets.

Conservatism seeks to achieve a balanced harmony in society but this is based around old feudalism and hierarchy, they believe in the rule of the elite. Based on the ideas of Edmund Burke they believe that politics is a compromise. Human nature is imperfect and people need clear boundaries because they are corruptible (so much for promised freedoms!) They believe in the nuclear family as the basis of a healthy society.

Democratic Socialism, as Ttosca has previously stated, plus keynsian economics, centrally managed economy, nationalisation (when our services were government owned between the end of WW11 and the late 70's we only had a deficit of 45% of GDP, when thatcher sold out, it shot up to over 200% and has remained thereafter) Mixed economy, private and state. Strong and responsible welfare state, health and education. Democratic socialism tries to work with capitalism by managing the economy.

There are all sorts of other "isms" as well anarchism, socialist anarchism, Anarcho-syndacalism/collectivism are other political philosophies.

I won't go into Marxism because you can't cover Marx in potted sound bites! but a great place to start would be with a couple of short easy lectures
this is great and explains the crisis in capital from a marxist perspective. Economist Richard D wolfe is easy to get to grips with, as is David Harvey.