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COMMUNISM:Communism is the belief that the best way for any group of people to operate is to share equally – sharing the work, sharing the income, and sharing the goods such as food, clothes and shelter. Central to Communism is the idea that the group or society is more important than the individual. Communism believes in political revolution to destroy the elite class and establish a communist system. This means using force to put in place a communist government so that the laws, the police and the army support the sharing of wealth and power among the workers. Communism teaches that the workers of all countries are equal and is therefore opposed to nationalism.DEMOCRACY:Democracy is a form of government that gives power to the ‘people’ – many different governments call themselves democracies and there are various forms of democracy. Western democracy usually tries to ensure that all widely held points of view are represented in the debates and decision making of national government. A defining characteristic of representative democracy is that opposition to government is legitimate and is not regarded as disloyalty to the country. Western democracies are often described as ‘liberal democracies’. This means that the government has three particular characteristics. First, it is chosen by the people (representative). Second, the people who make the daily decisions involved in running the country (the executive government) have to explain and justify their actions to the people’s representatives in parliament (responsible). Third, the executive government must obey the law (particularly the Constitution) which is administered by the public authority (judiciary) that is separate from the executive government (separation of powers).SOCIALISM:Socialism is a political system based on common ownership and control of resources and productive processes, which are administered by the government but in the interest of all the people. The government therefore directs wealth to meeting social needs rather than accumulation of profit. The aim is a sharing society in which everyone contributes what they can and receives what they need. Socialism differs from communism because socialism retains a democratic, administrative state and a monetary economy. Only some areas, deemed essential to the functioning of society are nationalized (controlled by government).NATIONALISM:Nationalism is the belief in the priority, and often superiority, of the interests of a particular nation. Nationalism depends on the idea of a ‘nation’, which is created by a shared feeling of belonging based on culture, ethnicity, and place of residence or place of birth.FASCISM:Fascism is the form of government that stresses the power of the state. Fascism is nationalistic and authoritarian. Fascism developed in Italy under Mussolini in 1919. It focused on national solidarity which means a rejection of liberalism and socialism as ideologies that could divide the nation. It was nationalist in the peculiar way that it depicted the nation as a victim of other nations and therefore justified aggressive behaviour. It also built nationalism on pictures of past glory that had been lost but could be regained.NAZISM:Nazism is a short name for National Socialism, a form of Fascism specific to Germany. It stood (the Nationalist Socialist Party – NSDAP) for the union of Germany speaking people beyond national borders; exclusion of Jews and non-German immigrants form the state; an increased role for the state in economy, education and the provision of welfare; control of the press; improving national fitness; a conscript army; and centralization of powers. Its goals were racial purity, lebensraum (German expansion into Eastern Europe) and the recovery of German power and prestige. It led to dictatorship because it tolerated no opposition or alternative view. Its slogan, chanted repeatedly by thousands at Nazi rallies was ‘ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer’ – meaning ‘one people, one state, one leader’.TOTALITARIANISM:Totalitarianism is the belief that all institutions in a society should be subordinate to one party or person. One party dictatorships tend to be totalitarian because their officially approved values apply to all aspects of life and they need all their subjects to share the same set of beliefs to ensure social solidarity and stability. Hitler proclaimed the ideal of Volksgemeinshaft (‘People’s Community) as a way of formalizing this unity.All information is adapted from:Ritter L. (2001) ‘Concepts that Shaped the Modern World From A-Z’ Macmillan Education: VictoriaDIAGRAMSFIG 1: THE POLITICAL SPECTRUMCommunism NazismFascismCommunism NazismFascismLEFT WING Labour Liberal Party PartySocialismCentreRIGHT WINGNationalismLEFT WING Labour Liberal Party PartySocialismCentreRIGHT WINGNationalismFIG 2: THE CLASH OF POLITICAL IDEOLOGIESFIG 3: COMMUNISM VERSUS CAPITALIST DEMOCRACYFIG 4: MARX’S PREORDAINED HISTORICAL PATH ................
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