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Whats The Difference Between Conservative Ideologies And Conservatism

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At some point individuals seem to develop a set beliefs or values that they uphold and by doing so they develop an ideology. Ideologies are personal beliefs and W. Phillips Shivley, in his book, Power & Choice defines an ideology as a set of related ideas about politics that support one another (23). There are numerous ideologies and they differ from each other or at times have similar ideas. A few ideologies include liberalism, conservatism, communitarianism, and marxism. Everyone in some way identifies with a particular ideology, others who are extremely passionate about their ideology believe that it is superior to others and strive to prove why. Sometimes their reasoning is clouded by their personal beliefs and they fail to look …show more content…

These two ideologies approach everything in a different manner. Conservatism emerged during the industrialization period of the eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe to counteract the powerful influence liberalism had (Shively-31). Unlike liberals, conservatives truly believe that humans are selfish and flawed beings. According to conservative ideas, individuals are presumptuous and because of this flaw we are unable to overcome our other weaknesses. Despite our inability to change, conservatives have found a way to restrain our flaws through education and religious traditions. Through conservative eyes, society is seen as a “social fabric”, where everyone has to play a role (Traditional Conservatism Lecture). Though everyone has a role and must contribute to the greater good that does insinuate that everyone should be a leader. Those who are considered feeble-minded are taken into account into the community that conservatives create. Maintaining a community creates a place where common values are upheld and certain roles are administered. Those are most qualified to hold power make the decisions for the community because realistically not everyone is equal. Having the burden to take on a great responsibility of exercising power over others is seen as a selfless act. Conservatives see liberals as selfish and that they lack regard because of their ideas of individualism (Shively-31). Unlike conservatives, …show more content…

Karl Marx the founder of this ideology admired the production aspect of capitalism, but felt a distaste towards it because many were exploited by it (Marxism Lecture). Marxism really focuses on hierarchy and the fact that those with power and wealth rest on workers. Though Marx believed that the expanding working class would eventually overthrow capitalism and develop a society where there would be no class system. Individuals are considered cooperative and social and even capable of being independent with the right assistance and inspiration. Marxists though do not value democracy as liberals do. They believe that those who run the the industry actually have control of the government under “democracy” (Marxism Lecture). Marxists would consider liberals to be selfish just like the other ideologies because they truly believe that freedom can not be acquired without

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