Comparative Government
and Politics

Understanding these ideologies…
1. Democracy
2. Liberalism
3. Communism
4. Socialism
5. Fascism
6. Anarchism
7. Radicalism
8. Neo-liberalism
9. Necro-politics
10. Narco-politics

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
DEMOCRACY
A democracy is a form of government that empowers
the people to exercise political control, limits the
power of the head of state, provides for the separation
of powers between governmental entities, and
ensures the protection of natural rights and civil
liberties. In practice, democracy takes many different
forms. Along with the two most common types of
democracies—direct and representative—variants
such as participatory, liberal, parliamentary, pluralist,
constitutional, and socialist democracies can be found
in use today.

Liberalism, political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the
freedom of the individual to be the central problem of politics. Liberals
typically believe that government is necessary to protect individuals
from being harmed by others, but they also recognize that government
itself can pose a threat to liberty. As the revolutionary American
pamphleteer Thomas Paine expressed it in Common Sense (1776),
government is at best “a necessary evil.” Laws, judges, and police are
needed to secure the individual’s life and liberty, but their coercive
power may also be turned against him. The problem, then, is to devise
a system that gives government the power necessary to protect
individual liberty but also prevents those who govern from abusing that
power.

Communism, political and economic doctrine that
aims to replace private property and a profit-based
economy with public ownership and communal
control of at least the major means of production
(e.g., mines, mills, and factories) and the natural
resources of a society. Communism is thus a form of
socialism—a higher and more advanced form,
according to its advocates. Exactly how communism
differs from socialism has long been a matter of
debate, but the distinction rests largely on the
communists’ adherence to the revolutionary
socialism of Karl Marx.

Socialism is, broadly speaking, a political and economic system in
which property and the means of production are owned in common,
typically controlled by the state or government. Socialism is based on
the idea that common or public ownership of resources and means of
production leads to a more equal society.
In defining socialism, it's important to first define capitalism. Capitalism
is based on private ownership of resources and means of production,
and individual choices in a free market. This is in contrast to socialism.
According to socialist philosophy, these features of capitalism lead to
inequalities in wealth and hence power, and the exploitation of
workers. According to socialism, notions of individual freedom and
equality of opportunity are available only to those who control the
means of production. In a capitalist society, this means a few rich
capitalists hold power at the expense of the working class. In a
socialist system, however, it is argued that since everyone controls the
means of production, everyone is free.

Fascism, political ideology and mass movement that dominated
many parts of central, southern, and eastern Europe between 1919
and 1945 and that also had adherents in western Europe, the United
States, South Africa, Japan, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Europe’s first fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, took the name of his
party from the Latin word fasces, which referred to a bundle of elm or
birch rods (usually containing an ax) used as a symbol of penal
authority in ancient Rome. Although fascist parties and movements
differed significantly from one another, they had many characteristics in
common, including extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for
electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in
natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, and the desire to create a
Volksgemeinschaft (German: “people’s community”), in which
individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation. At
the end of World War II, the major European fascist parties were
broken up, and in some countries (such as Italy and West Germany)
they were officially banned. Beginning in the late 1940s, however,
many fascist-oriented parties and movements were founded in Europe
as well as in Latin America and South Africa. Although some European
“neofascist” groups attracted large followings, especially in Italy and
France, none were as influential as the major fascist parties of the
interwar period.

Anarchism, cluster of doctrines and attitudes centred on the belief
that government is both harmful and unnecessary. Anarchist thought
developed in the West and spread throughout the world, principally in
the early 20th century.
Derived from the Greek root anarchos meaning “without authority,”
anarchism, anarchist, and anarchy are used to express both approval
and disapproval. In early usage all these terms were pejorative: for
example, during the English Civil Wars (1642–51) the radical Levelers,
who called for universal manhood suffrage, were referred to by their
opponents as “Switzerising anarchists,” and during the French
Revolution the leader of the moderate Girondin faction of Parliament,
Jacques-Pierre Brissot, accused his most extreme rivals, the Enragés,
of being the advocates of “anarchy”:

We recognize that defining the term "radicalism," and distinguishing radical
movements from activist ones, is difficult and dependent on interpretation,
perspective, and context. Nevertheless, to help with the purposes of collection
and scope, the following definition of radicalism serves as a general guide for our
collection:
Radicalism: the beliefs or actions of individuals, groups, or organizations who
advocate for thorough or complete social and/or political reform to achieve an
alternative vision of American society
This collection aims to document the ideologies, goals, and tactics of individuals,
groups, parties, and other organizations who strive to enact complete societal
overhaul, often through revolutionary means. Sometimes, these revolutionary
means include violent and/or illegal tactics.
However, we also collect material on groups and movements that aim to alter or
improve existing political and social systems, rather than replace them
altogether, and do so primarily through legal and nonviolent means - what some
would consider to be more along the lines of "activism." This flexible collecting
scope allows us to preserve a more complete record of historical and current
efforts to enact political, economic, or social change, and of alternative visions to
American society.

Neoliberalism, ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value
of free market competition. Although there is considerable debate as to
the defining features of neoliberal thought and practice, it is most
commonly associated with laissez-faire economics. In particular,
neoliberalism is often characterized in terms of its belief in sustained
economic growth as the means to achieve human progress, its
confidence in free markets as the most-efficient allocation of
resources, its emphasis on minimal state intervention in economic and
social affairs, and its commitment to the freedom of trade and capital.

Necro comes from the Greek root nekros, meaning “corpse.”
Necropolitics then translates to the “politics of death.” Philosopher
Achille Mbembe describes necropolitics as “the capacity to define who
matters and who does not, who is disposable and who is not.” In other
words, necropolitics is a framework that illuminates how governments
assign differential value to human life. The closer you are to dominant
power, the more your life is worth. In the United States, if you’re a
straight, white, able-bodied, cisgender, wealthy, Christian man, this is
great news for you. But the further away you are from those axes of
privilege, the less your life is worth under the logics of necropolitics —
and the more precarious your existence becomes.

Narco-state (also narco-capitalism or narco-economy) is a political
and economic term applied to countries where all legitimate institutions
become penetrated by the power and wealth of the illegal drug trade.
The term was first used to describe Bolivia following the 1980 coup of
Luis García Meza which was seen to be primarily financed with the
help of narcotics traffickers. Other well-known examples are Colombia,
Honduras, Guinea-Bissau, Afghanistan, Mexico, Myanmar and Syria,
where drug cartels produce, ship and sell drugs such as captagon,
cocaine and marijuana.