Page 1
1 1 RIGHTS Unit Structure 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Meaning and Nature of Rights 1.1.1 Meaning of Rights 1.1.2 Definition of Rights 1.1.3 Negative and Positive Rights 1.2 Theories of Rights 1.2.1 Theory of Natural Rights 1.2.2 Historical Theory 1.2.3 Legal Theory 1.2.4 Idealist Theory 1.3. Classification of Rights 1.0 INTRODUCTION The concept of rights primarily refers to an entitlement to act or be treated in a particular way. The notion of rights is a pioneering principle in the process of establishment of a just polity. Although it would be wrong to suggest that the doctrine of rights is universally accepted, most modern political thinkers have nevertheless been prepared to express their ideas in terms of rights or entitlements. The concept of rights is, in that sense, politically less contentious than, the concepts like equality liberty or justice. However, there is no agreement among scholars about the grounds upon which these rights are based, who should possess them, and which one they should have. Political theorists, philosophers, and jurists continue to examine the origin, nature, and scope of the concept of right, with the promise of a definitive set of answers always in question. And yet, few concepts are as important to the promotion of a just society as the principle that human beings do possess rights. 1.1 MEANING AND NATURE OF RIGHTS 1.1.1 Meaning of Rights : Rights can be described as claims of individuals, groups or classes that are made against either the society or the state. In other words right is a claim of an individual recognized by the society and the state. In simple words, rights are the common claims of people which every civilized society recognizes as essential claims for their development, and which are therefore enforced by the state. Rights can be claimed on various grounds munotes.in
Page 2
2 Political Values and Ideologies
2 such as inherent human personality, natural basis, legal basis, social basis etc. Generally, society or communities acknowledge certain claims made by individual and groups, which are recognized by the state. State gives sanctions to these claims either wholly or selectively. It is also possible that certain rights are introduced by the state itself and did not arise from a given society or community. One of the most popular implications of rights is that it serves the purpose of providing conditions for liberty and development of capacities of personality of individuals. For example, freedom of expression and speech constitute liberty of a person to express his or her views, ideas or feelings. However, to secure this liberty, some safeguard is required and rights provide this safeguard. Laski therefore says that “without rights there cannot be liberty and that every state is known by the rights it maintains”. Rights can be understood in three steps. In a nutshell meaning of rights may be summarized in a following way. 1) Claims of the Individual: Rights are the claims made by individual. It is important to note that all these claims cannot be recognized as rights. These claims should be selfless claims or something which have universal application. In other words they should be disinterested desires and should stand the test of rationality and public service. Individual’s personal claims entrenched in selfish motives cannot be considered for social recognition. 2) Community recognition: In order to get transformed into rights, the claims should receive recognition of the community. For example an individual’s claim that none should take his life receives social recognition as every individual desires the same. A recognition of the claim of this type ultimately leads to the creation of right to life. Similarly an individuals will that none should take away his property creates in him a sense that he should not take away the property of others. When this claim gets social recognition, it becomes right to property. Claims thus recognized are translated into rights and it is such recognition that constitutes them rights. 3) Political recognition: Rights are just abstract claims unless and until they are accepted and protected by the state. The state translates the socially recognized claims or moral rights into terms of law and thereby accords the legal recognition. The state therefore acts like a coercive agency to prevent the operation of the selfish will of the individuals. 1.1.2 Definition of Rights: 1) Oxford English dictionary:- It defines right as the standard of permitted and forbidden action within a certain sphere. 2) Allen :- Allen defines Rights as the legally guaranteed power to realize an interest. munotes.in
Page 3
3
Rights 3) Merriam –Webster dictionary : It defines rights as something to which one has a just claim, such as the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled. 4) T.H.Green : Green defines rights in his Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligations as ‘a power of acting for his own ends…secured to an individual by the community on the supposition that it contributes to the good of the community. 5) Hobhouse : He defines rights as the system of harmonized liberties. 6) Ernest Barker : He defines rights as external conditions necessary for the greatest possible development of the capacities of the personality. 7) Harold Laski : He defines rights as those conditions of social life without which no man can seek, in general, to be his best. 8) R.N.Gilchrist : Rights arise from individuals as members of society and from the recognition that for society there is ultimate good which may be reached by the development of the powers inherent in every individual. 1.1.3 Negative and Positive Rights: Philosophers and political theorists make a distinction between negative and positive rights. A distinction between these rights is very popular among normative political theorists. The holder of a negative right is entitled to non-interference, while the holder of a positive right is entitled to provision of some good or service. Negative rights: There are certain individual rights in which the state is not authorized to interfere. The rights which arise due to authorities not interfering are negative rights. A negative right is a right not to be subjected to an action of another person or group and generally permits or oblige inaction. Negative rights can be respected simply by each person refraining from interfering with each other. For example the individual’s right to freedom of expression; right to religion, freedom of assembly etc are some of the negative rights. Negative rights have traditionally been supported by liberals who see them as a means of defending the individual from arbitrary government, but have been attacked by socialists on the grounds that they may merely uphold private property and thus class inequality. Positive rights: A positive right is a right to be subjected to an action on part of person or group and imply positive duties to take action. The holder of a negative right is entitled to non-interference, while the holder of a positive right is entitled to provision of some good or service. Positive rights may require munotes.in
Page 4
4 Political Values and Ideologies
4 the state to take up positive actions for guaranteeing and securing rights of individual or groups. These rights are positive as these require the state to provide positive condition for securing these rights. Positive rights are generally harder to justify and require more complex ethical substantiation than negative rights. For example in Indian context Right to religious freedom (Article 25) and cultural and educational right (Article 28–30), discussed in Indian constitution are positive rights. Similarly right to education, right to health, social security etc may also be described as positive rights. The Indian constitution gives description of positive rights in the provision of the Directive Principles of State Policy. It is not easy to achieve this category of rights as they depend on various factors including the resources. These rights are referred as Economic, Social and Cultural rights in the language of human rights. Positive rights are favoured by socialists who wish to defend welfare provision and economic intervention, but are condemned by some liberal and supporters of the New Right because they breed dependency and weaken self reliance. In relation to the three generations of human rights, negative rights are often associated with the first generation while positive rights are associated with the second and third generations. 1.2 THEORIES OF RIGHTS There is wide range of arguments which tries to inquire different contours of the concept of rights. Following are some of the theoretical arguments and explanations of rights:- 1.2.1 Theory of Natural Rights : Theory of natural rights emphasizes that certain rights are so essential to any personal life that they should be called as natural. Natural rights are the earliest known grounds for claim of individual rights. There rights are claims because they are considered to be ordained by nature and therefore product of law of nature. Natural right theory is closely connected with the notion of natural law. The concept of natural rights originated in ancient Rome and came from the discovery that men of all races and countries living under Roman rule have some common rules of life. This body of principles common to all men, the Romans called “Natural Law”. A. Contractual ground of natural rights : Social contractualists have made a very valuable contribution in eulogising the importance of natural rights theory. They hypothetically constructed the state of nature and visualised the existence of rights in it and described it as natural rights. The social contractualist thus claims that, individuals enjoyed some basic rights even before the emergence and development of the state. The contractual ground entails that individual enjoyed natural right in hypothetical state of nature. The same rights are carried forward in the civil society as a result of social contract between the ruler and munotes.in
Page 5
5
Rights the ruled. The social contractualist described these rights as inalienable and inseparable in nature and cannot be taken away from the individual. They are inalienable because they are inherent and existed prior to society and state. The natural rights according to social contractualist are imprescriptible as they are not prescribed and sanctioned by sovereign authority. B. Teleological view of natural rights : Teleology is explanation of some phenomenon by giving importance to its purpose or ends it serves. This view looks at the final purpose served by the rights. The teleological viewpoint seeks to correlate the rights of an individual with the purpose of human life. These rights do not depend on any institutional arrangements, but stem from the very nature of man and serve the purpose of life. for example Thomas Paine in his book Rights of Man enquired the theory of natural rights on teleological basis. Similarly T.H.Green’s theory of natural rights is also based on teleological view of rights. C. Current debate on natural rights : John Rawls and Robert Nozick : John Rawls (Theory of Justice) and Robert Nozick (Anarchy, State and Utopia) are contemporary theorists who have propounded their theories of rights of individual and justice on basis of social contract and natural rights respectively. Rawls has used the idea of deriving rights from social contract to present his views of an egalitarian social order. Robert Nozick has developed the concept of prior and inalienable individual rights drawing inspiration from John Locke’s inviolable property rights. He says that individual rights have priority over other principles such as equality. Based on inviolable property rights, Nozick seeks to develop an entitlement theory of people’s natural assets. D. Nature regulates the activities of men : According to natural right theory, nature or God alone regulates the wisdom and the activities of men. The kings being the divine origin, as representatives of God, the rules framed by them were considered divine in nature. But in the age of enlightenment ( or Age of Reason) of the eighteenth century a number of Western advocators like, Hobbes, Locke, Hugo Grotius, Rousseau, Samuel Pufendorf, etc challenged the origin of divine concept to natural law. i) Based on reason and fairness : A natural right is nothing but, rights based on just, fair and reasonable conduct. This means, the individuals unite themselves to form political societies through mutual consent, and agree to form a government of their own. It will enable them to lead their life through common rules and regulations munotes.in
Page 6
6 Political Values and Ideologies
6 framed by either them or their representatives. At the same time, they accept a set of legal and moral duties to be observed or bound by them in the exercise of their rights in order to live in peace and security without any violence. ii) Belief in its inalienability : Thomas Hobbes and John Locke have discussed natural or inalienable rights on the basis of rights prevailing in the state of nature. Thomas Paine and Thomas Hill Green have argued for natural rights on the basis of inherent moral claim of individual. In either case, naturally available rights or rights available to human moral claim are inalienable. Some of the commonly discussed natural rights are right to life and security, liberty, property and resistance to oppression. The American declaration of independence-1776, the French declaration rights of Man and Citizens 1789 and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 all acknowledge natural rights as inalienable in nature. 1.2.2 Historical Theory: This theory of rights believes that rights are the product of history. The rights have their origin in customs which once found practical social utility and passed on from one generation to another ultimately having been recognised as inherent claims or rights. a) Evolution of laws is based on customs : The historical rights theory argues that the laws have evolved on the basis of customs and traditions. This theory holds the view that rights are the product of a long historical process and grow out of customs. Therefore the essential sanction behind a right is, for this reason, is tradition or custom. Law of today is nothing but the crystallisation of age old customs into the form of legal sanctions that the state enforces with coercive power at its command. This theory stands against the rights, which lead to radical or revolutionary rearrangement of social and political structures. Phiolosophers like Edmund Burke, Henry Maine, sociologist R.M.MacIver, jurist J.W.Burgess have wholeheartedly supported the historical theory of rights. b) Importance of prescriptive institutions: Edmund Burke is known as an ardent advocate of historical theory of rights. His doctrine of prescriptive institutions solemnly asserts the importance of historical theory of rights. According to him political institutions form a vast and complicated system of prescriptive rights and customs and that these customary practices grow out of the past and adapt themselves with the present without any break in the continuity. munotes.in
Page 7
7
Rights To substantiate his argument Burke gives example of French revolution and criticised it as injudicious exercise in the direction of a struggle for liberty, equality and fraternity. On the contrary he glorified the glorious English revolution which sought to reassert the customary rights that Englishmen had enjoyed from very early days and which had found expression in documents like Magna Carta, Petition of Right and various other documents of constitutional importance. c) Evaluation of historical theory : The historical theory of rights in a nutshell finds origin of rights in the primitive customs. It does not however mean that the origin of all rights can be traced in customs and traditions. Had this been so, all repressive and unjust practices would have been in existence even today. When rights are rigidly tied to customs alone, we altogether ignore the dynamic nature of society and accordingly, the changing contents of rights. 1.2.3 Legal Theory : Legal theory of rights give a legalist or law based position on origin of rights. It traces origin of rights in the form of enhanced laws that have legal or positive authority behind them. According to this theory rights are neither absolute nor ordained by nature, but are created and maintained by the state. This theory maintains that since the state is the only source of all rights, there can be no rights without or against the state. Rights are relative to the law of the land; hence they vary with time and space. Rights have no substance until they are guaranteed by the state. Rights are creations of the law of the state- According to this theory rights are not created by nature or absolute in nature but they are created by sate. That means state is the sole creator or source of rights. It provides all those conditions which aims to protect rights of common man. Such an affirmation regards rights as the creation of the political community. 1) Contribution of Jeremy Bentham : legal theory of rights finds its emphatic manifestation in the works of Jeremy Bentham. He criticised natural rights theory as A rhetorical nonsense upon stilts and proposed that rights are the creature of law and or organised society. He argues that rights are the creatures of law and they are properly therefore referred as rights. 2) Legal rights exist under the rules of legal systems : Legal rights are those rights which exist under the rules of legal systems or by virtue of decisions of suitably authoritative bodies within them. According to positivists, legal rights are essentially those interests which have been legally recognized and protected. John Austin made a distinction between legal rights and other types munotes.in
Page 8
8 Political Values and Ideologies
8 of rights such as Natural rights or Moral rights. By legal rights, he meant rights which are creatures of law, strictly or simply so called. He said that other kind of rights are not armed with legal sanction and cannot be enforced judicially. On the other hand, Salmond said that a legal right is an interest recognized and protected by rule of law and violation of such an interest would be a legal wrong. 3) Legal rights are recognized and protected by a rule of justice : Salmond argues that legal right is an interest recognized and protected by a rule of justice. The word ‘interest’ implies any interest, respect for which is a duty and disregard of which is a wrong. This contention has two essential elements, legal recognition and legal protection. Both these elements should simultaneously and concurrently be present in an interest for its transformation as a legal right. 4) Characteristics of legal rights: According to Salmond, there are five important characteristics of a Legal Right a) It is vested in a person who may be distinguished as the owner of the right, the subject of it, the person entitled, or the person of inherence. b) It avails against a person, upon whom, lies the correlative duty. He may be distinguished as the person bound, or as the subject of duty, or as the person of incidence. c) It obliges the person bound to an act or omission in favour of the person entitled. This may be termed the content of the right. d) The act or omission relates to something (in the widest sense of that word), which may be termed the object or subject matter of the right. e) Every legal right has a title, that is to say, certain facts or events by reason of which the right has become vested in its owner. 1.2.4 Idealist Theory : Idealist theory of rights differs greatly from the natural theory or legal theory of rights. The Idealistic Theory of Rights is also known as the Personality Theory. According to this theory, rights are the external conditions essential to man’s internal and real development. It advocates that without rights no man can become the best self and achieve his fullest development. a) Perfection of human personality- Perfection of human personality is the end to which all rights are directed and subordinated. In other words, right to personality is man’s fundamental right and all other munotes.in
Page 9
9
Rights rights are derived from it. For example, the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to property, and all other similarly important rights are to be judged by their contribution towards the development of human personality. If I abuse any of these rights and retard my self-development, society is within its competence to deprive me of that right. b) Maintenance of material condition- The adherents of this theory believes that rights have a very important role to play in an individual’s life. Rights are those necessary conditions which can be used to maintain basic material condition essential for the existence and perfection of human personality. As Kruausse has said that rights constitutes the organic whole of the outward conditions necessary to the rational life. It means that without rights no man can achieve his fullest development and become his best self. c) Rational will of man- idealistic theory is based on the rational will of man and for this reason, it is first recognized by the society and then translated into law by the state. Its best presentation is contained in the philosophy of T.H.Green who says that human consciousness thinks of the goodness of the self as well as of other human beings. 1.3 CLASSIFICATION OF RIGHTS 1) Civil Rights : Civil rights, guarantees social opportunities and equal protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other personal characteristics. Examples of civil rights include the right to a fair trial, the right to government services, the right to a public education, and the right to use public facilities. Civil rights are an essential component of democracy; when individuals are being denied opportunities to participate in political society, they are being denied their civil rights. In contrast to civil liberties, there are freedoms that are secured by placing restraints on government; civil rights are secured by positive government action, often in the form of legislation. 2) Political Rights : Political rights are those rights which relates to political affairs of the state. Right to contest elections, right to vote, right to participate in political campaign or assume political positions are some of the important political rights. They ensure one's ability to participate in the political life of the society and state without discrimination or repression. It also includes the right to address individually or collectively petitions to the government embodying their grievances. In a nutshell political rights are those rights by virtue of which citizens get a share in the political process. munotes.in
Page 10
10 Political Values and Ideologies
10 3) Economic Rights : These rights relate to an individual’s vocation and his engagement in a gainful employment so as to solve the problem of, clothing and shelter. In simple words economic rights are those rights which provide economic security to the people. These enable all citizens to make proper use of their civil and political rights. The basic needs of every person are related to his food, clothing, shelter, medical treatment etc. Without the fulfilment of these no person can really enjoy his civil and political rights. It is therefore essential, that every person must get the right to work, right to adequate wages, right to leisure and rest, and right to social security in case of illness, physical disability and old age. 4) Social Rights : Social rights include the rights to social security, protection of the family, an adequate standard of living, including freedom from hunger, access to clean water, adequate housing, and protection of property, and mental and physical health. Social rights refer to those rights that protect the necessities of life or that provide for the foundations of an adequate quality of life. In other words social rights may be defined as claims against the state to have certain basic social and economic needs of life satisfied. 5) Cultural Rights : Cultural Rights are rights related to art and culture, both understood in a large sense. The objective of these rights is to guarantee that people and communities have an access to culture and can participate in the culture of their own choice. Cultural rights are human rights that aim at assuring the enjoyment of culture and its components in conditions of equality, human dignity and non-discrimination. They are rights related to themes such as language; cultural and artistic production; participation in cultural life; cultural heritage; intellectual property rights; author’s rights; minorities and access to culture, among others. 6) Group rights : Group Rights means rights that are enjoyed by a group and as well as individually. For example, the rights of disabled persons are considered as group rights. They promote the rights of the disabled as a group. At the same time, an individual disabled person also could claim the rights independently of the group. munotes.in
Page 11
11
Rights QUESTIONS 1. Give meaning of rights and write negative and positive rights in detail. 2. Briefly discuss various theories of rights 1. Write in detail the theory of natural rights 2. Write in detail the historical theory of rights. 3. Give basic features of idealist and legal theory of rights 4. Examine various types of rights 5. Give meaning of rights and write negative and positive rights in detail. (Refer 1.1& 1.1.1.& 1.1.3) 6. Briefly various theories of rights (Refer 1.2) 7. Write in detail the theory of natural rights (Refer 1.2.1) 8. Write in detail the historical theory of rights. (Refer 1.2.2) 9. Give basic features of idealist and legal theory of rights (Refer 1.2.3. & 1.2.4) 10. Examine various types of rights (Refer 1.3) Important Questions Q. 1 Give meaning of rights and write negative and positive rights in detail. (Refer 1.1& 1.1.1.& 1.1.3) Q. 2 Briefly various theories of rights (Refer 1.2) Q. 3 Write in detail the theory of natural rights (Refer 1.2.1) Q. 4 Write in detail the historical theory of rights. (Refer 1.2.2) Q. 5 Give basic features of idealist and legal theory of rights (Refer 1.2.3. & 1.2.4) Q. 6 Examine various types of rights (Refer 1.3) munotes.in
Page 12
12 Political Values and Ideologies
12 2 LIBERTY, EQUALITY, JUSTICE Unit Structure 2.1 Liberty 2.1.1 Meaning and aspects of Liberty 2.1.2 Feature of Liberty 2.1.3 Types of Liberty 2.1.4 Restrictions and safeguards of liberty 2.1.5 Importance of Liberty 2.1.6 Summary 2.2 Equality 2.2.1 Introduction of equality 2.2.2 Meaning of equality, Aspects of equality 2.2.3 Dimensions of equality 2.2.4 Features of equality 2.2.5 Types of equality 2.2.6 Evaluation of equality 2.3 Justice 2.3.1 Meaning of Justice 2.3.2 Nature of Justice 2.3.3 Bases of Justice 2.3.4 Dimensions of Justice 2.3.5 Importance of Justice 2.1 LIBERTY Introduction – The concept of liberty emerged in the 19th century and become important in democracy. It is a very widely used term but is difficult to precisely define it. Meaning -The word “liberty” is derived from the Latin word “liber” meaning “free.” Liberty is necessary for quality human life. It is a necessary condition of rationality, of action, of achievement. To be free is to be able to translate one’s ideals into reality, to actualize one’s potentialities as a person. Lucas regards freedom as being chiefly freedom, from ill health, from fear, from want, from arbitrary arrest, from public opinion. Two aspects of Liberty In negative sense it means merely the absence of restraint or absence of interference of impediment. It is a situation in which A is free from B to do the desired things of his/her own choice. munotes.in
Page 13
13
Liberty, Equality, Justice In Positive sense Positively it refers to the positive opportunity for self-development. According to Isaiah Berlin negative liberty is absence of interference by others and positive liberty means persons capacity to implement his will. Characteristic Features of Liberty:- 1) Liberty and freedom are synonymous. 2) Liberty does not mean absence of restraints, It means acceptance of reasonable restrictions, 3) Unrestrained liberty means law of jungle, 4) Liberty is opposed to political subjection. It advocates independence for every nationality. 5) It means freedom to do something positively. 6) Activities of the state and individual liberty are not opposed to each other. In fact, they are complementary. 7) The law of the state protects freedom of the weak. 8) Liberty incorporates the idea of individual and social welfare. There must be a balance between the two. 9) It is an essential condition for all-round developments of human personality. 10) Liberty is associated with responsibility. 11) It is a dynamic concept. It’s meaning changes with changing times, places and conditions. 12) It is the responsibility of the state to create required conditions for enjoyment of liberty. Types of Liberty Notion of liberty can be classified in many types. Natural Liberty:- It means total and complete freedom. It means lack of any restraint. This notion of liberty refers to the fact that man is by nature free. Natural Liberty is strongly advocated by Rousseau who said that, “Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains.” However, this concept of liberty is illusory. It is a myth. Personal Liberty This notion suggests that every human being desires to exercise his faculties and to determine the general conditions of his life. This provides justification of personal liberty which is championed by Mill who said that the individual should be free to experiment with his life, as long as his actions do not affect others. munotes.in
Page 14
14 Political Values and Ideologies
14 National Liberty It oceans national independence. National liberty stands for achievement of complete independence and subsequent sovereignty of the nation from the dominance of foreign nation. Freedom from the bondage of other states is essential for the realization of liberty in its fullest sense. It means it is the foundation of all other liberties. Civil Liberty This liberty exists in a civil society. It means liberty in social life. In the words of Gettel, “it includes liberty to free action and immunity from interference. It comprises rights and privileges that the state creates and enforces.” It includes freedom of the person Physical freedom from injury or threat to the life, health, and movement of the body, Intellectual freedom for the expression of thought and belief, Equality before the law, Security of private property, Freedom of opinion and expression, and Freedom of conscience. As per Laski civil liberty is the sum total of the rights, recognised in various degrees in different states. It is a safeguard against physical and moral coercion exerted by either an individual or the state. It includes; the right to life, personal safety and freedom, religious freedom, the right to reputation, the right to work, education, family rights, the right of association, the right to the general advantages of social life, the right to property. Political Liberty It refers to the individual’s role, participation and share in the administration of the state. It connotes the opportunity of taking part in the process of government, and of having a say in the future development of the community. As Barker says, political liberty is “a liberty not of curbing; constituting it by a general act of choice or election, in which we all freely share on the basis of universal suffrage; controlling it by a general and continuous process of discussion, in which we all freely share according to our capacities.” Political liberty reinforces the duty of political obedience. Political liberty is often equated with the right to vote, the liberties of holding views about political matters and of ventilating those views in public, the right of addressing those with whom the decision rests and the liberty of seeking and holding office. Political liberty is based on the ideal of participation. munotes.in
Page 15
15
Liberty, Equality, Justice Political liberty is a guarantee to the whole community that it will not be governed by any outside power or by any individual or section of its own members. Further it is a guarantee to a sufficiently large group or interest that flow through his effort as a producer of services, and “find in that effort the capacity of enrichment.” He further says that economic liberty implies democracy in industry. Restrictions and Safeguards of Liberty Absolute liberty is dangerous. It supports the dictum that, „might is right.‟ Such unrestricted freedom is ultimately denial of equalityalong with freedom of others. Certain safeguards are devised to check liberty. Some of them are; Prevention of other, General Public utility, Equity, National unity, Security and Sovereignty of the country, Peace and order in the society, etc. Liberty also involves certain safeguards. Just law is the vital condition of liberty. Law can destroy, law can uphold conditions of liberty. Democratic polity is prerequisite of liberty. In democracy widespread enjoyment of liberty is dependent on the respect for minority rights and on the widespread habit of tolerance in a community. An independent judiciary and a healthy development of local self-governing institutions further help liberty. Constitutional government, a charter of fundamental rights, a tradition of constructive public opinion and eternal vigilance are other sure safeguards of liberty. Importance of Liberty:- It is a very important political value. 1) It is one of the pillars of democracy. a democratic government is meaningful only if people enjoy liberty. Love for liberty teaches individuals to oppose injustice. It puts a check on the activities of the government. 2) Liberty is the most precious aspect of human life. Only liberty can bring about all-round development of human personality. 2.2 EQUALITY Introduction Equality:- The American Declaration of Independence, 1776 proclaims that, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” munotes.in
Page 16
16 Political Values and Ideologies
16 The French Declaration of 1789 also proclaimed,” men are born and live free and equal in their rights.” Both the documents underlines the fact that Equality is a protest ideal, a symbol of man’s revolt against chance, fortuitous disparity, unjust power, crystallized privilege. Equality is difficult and controversial notion in politics. It is a fact that humans are not equal. They have differences in their mental, moral qualities or their attitudes and abilities. The demand for equality dose not neglect the differences among humans. It is a protest against unjust, undeserved, and unjustified inequalities, for hierarchies of worth and ability never satisfactorily corresponds to effective hierarchies of power. Demand for equality provides necessary motion to break the inertia of human society, which constantly tends to perpetuate the existing vertical structures. Such structures perpetuate themselves with nurturing the belief that each man should live according to his station? And by means of routine, custom, and traditional social mechanisms. The ideal of equality works against such force of gravity inherent in politico-socio organisms. Meaning of Equality Thus, the very differences in the nature of men require mechanisms for the expression of their wills that give to each its due hearing. In brief, equality refers to the equal enjoyment of rights by all citizens and absence of any discrimination based on status, race or sex. The principle that all men are equal only means that they ought to be treated in the same manner in certain vital respects. It means impartiality of treatment. According to Harold J. Laski equality means „the absence of special privilege availability of adequate opportunities that is open to all. It is fundamentally a levelling process. Marx argued for equality as „an end to class domination and economic exploitation of man by man. These definitions shows two aspects of equality. 1) Negative aspect – It means absence of special privileges. 2) Positive aspect – It means that adequate opportunities should be made available to all. 9.2.3 Dimensions of Equality:- A. Legal Dimension of Equality Legal dimension of Equality is essential ingredient of liberal democracy. Legal equality implies that every individual is equal before the law and is entitled to and can claim equal protection of the laws. In modern democratic states, law neither allows special privileges to any particular class nor confers unequal rights on, or claim unequal munotes.in
Page 17
17
Liberty, Equality, Justice obligations from, different categories of citizens. Equality before the law does not guarantee equal treatment by the law but equal access to the law, and consideration only of those factors laid down by law as relevant. Legal equality does not mean that any two persons must always be treated exactly alike. It claims that the grounds for deciding between two persons should be only those laid down by law, and not any legally extraneous ones, whether unreasonable grounds of moral sentiments or Natural law, or unreasonable ones of private caprice. Application of legal dimension is contextual. Division of labour and distributive justice provides ground for legitimate unequal treatment to certain classes or categories of individuals or groups. Equality before the law basically denotes equal enjoyment of certain fundamental rights and duties. B. Political Dimension of Equality Political equality implies equal access to political power. This form of equality is closely associated with liberal democratic form of government. The concrete expression of political equality is the conferment, on all adult citizens, of the right to vote and its corollaries, the right to contest for public office and equal eligibility for administrative and judicial posts provided the necessary technical qualifications are fulfilled. In short, political equality denotes the equality of political rights of citizens. This notion of equality is heavily discarded by many. According to Elitist theory, Ordinary citizens, even when they have votes, have no real access to political power. In democratic political system power is contested by political parties which are themselves controlled by a clique or self- appointed leaders.’ According to Laski, “political equality, is never real unless it is accompanied by virtual economic equality; political power, otherwise is bound to be the handmaid of economic power,” Marx ridiculed the notion of equality in a society based on capitalism. C. Socio-Economical Dimensions of Equality It is generally agreed that legal and political dimensions alone are not adequate to interpret equality because it ignores the basic fundamental aspect of equality, i.e., its socio-economic dimensions. If the legal and political equalities are of the formal type, economic and social equalities are substantive and of the material type. First is apparent and second is real equality. Literally it implies the attempt to expunge all differences in wealth, allotting to every man and woman an equal share in worldly goods. munotes.in
Page 18
18 Political Values and Ideologies
18 But practically it is difficult to follow this meaning. Properly interpreted, economic equality means the provision of adequate opportunities for all in the material sense of equalising the starting points, that is, creating by means of a relatively equal distribution of wealth the material conditions for equal access to opportunities. In Marxian sense it demands State ownership of all wealth. The principle of social equality remains a characteristically democratic preoccupation. Characteristic Features of Equality:- 1) Absolute equality i.e., complete identity of treatment and reward is not desirable. 2) Men are by nature unequal in their capacity 3) It is basically a levelling process. 4) It is essential for social justice. 5) It means equal opportunities to all. 6) It means absence of special privileges to anyone. 7) Essential things must be provided to all. Types of Equality: Equality can be classified into four types. 1. Ontological Equality: 2. Equality of Opportunity: 3. Equality of Condition: 4. Equality of Outcome Ontological Equality: This form of equality has its base in religious and moral tradition. It is expressed in the religious belief that all persons are equal before God. Natural theorists stressed an essential equality of human beings qua human beings. In modern scientific world this notion is quiet ineffective to argue in favour of equality. But Marxism takes similar position when it asserted that all human beings are knowledgeable, conscious and practical agents. All human beings have to labour productively to produce their means of existence and reproduce their own species. Equality of Opportunity: It means that access to important social institutions should be open to all on universalistic grounds. Especially by achievement and talent. The debate about equality of opportunity was especially important in the development of modern educational institutions where promotion and attainment were in theory based upon intelligence, skill and talent regardless of parental and class background; in terms of universal criteria of achievement, not on ascribed standards of age, sex or wealth. munotes.in
Page 19
19
Liberty, Equality, Justice Equality of Condition: Equality of opportunity is closely linked to equality of condition. Equality opportunity rewards those who have ability and who are prepared to exercise their skills in the interest of personal achievement in a competitive situation. In order for equality of opportunity to have any significant content, it is essential to guarantee equality of condition, that is, all competitors should start at the same time. Equality of Outcome It stressed on equality of result regardless of starting point and natural ability. It seeks to transform inequalities at the beginning into social equalities as a conclusion. Social programmes of positive discrimination in favour of disadvantaged or dis-privileged groups are meant to compensate for significant inequalities of condition in order to bring about a meaningful equality of opportunity to secure an equality of result. Evaluation of the notion of Equality: Importance of Equality :– 1) A peaceful society can be developed only on the solid foundation of equality. The history is full of wars, clashes and revolutions because there was absence of equality. 2) Equality is a necessary precondition for enjoyment of liberty. Without equality liberty becomes a privilege of some people 3) Equality promotes justice Equality is `highly contested‟ concept. It is one of the leading ideals of the body politic; it is the most controversial of the great social ideals. It is the essence of social justice. Along with other ideals it is the basic core of today’s egalitarianism. Despite various differences it serves to remind us of our common humanity. In social sciences we use the concept of equality in number of ways. e.g. Equality before the law, equality of opportunity, equality of outcome, gender equality, racial equality, social equality etc. There is no single acceptable, common notion of the term equality. Apart from common meaning of the term the value of equality itself is attacked by many thinkers and school of thoughts. In ancient Greece Aristotle justified inequality when he justified slavery. He contended that slavery was natural an reasonable institution because there was a fundamental difference and inequalities among men. In his words, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule. Cicero contradicts these arguments of Aristotle, According to him, `men differ indeed in learning, but they are equal in the faculty of learning‟, `nature has given to all men reasons. Main obstacles in the implementation of equality:- 1) Social- Age old customs, traditions and superstitions create inequality of social status. munotes.in
Page 20
20 Political Values and Ideologies
20 2) Political – Political power is enjoyed by people belonging to certain castes and certain families. This means absence of equal opportunities. 3) Economic – There is concentration of economic wealth in the hands of few. Following are some Common Arguments against Equality. The different components of equality are often, mutually incompatible. For example, equality of opportunity and condition tend to produce inequality of results. The notion of equality of opportunity is characteristic of liberalism and some versions of liberalism are content to accept a situation where inequality of outcome is predominant. A political programme to secure equality generally would be feasible, since to secure radical equality of condition or equality of outcome would require massive social and political regulation by the state resulting in a totalitarian and authoritarian regime. The price of significant equality is political despotism which would subordinate individual talent and achievement. The achievement of equality may be incompatible with other values which are also desirable than personal liberty, or at which are also desirable than personal liberty, or at least that liberty and equality are somewhat mutually exclusive. 2.3 JUSTICE-PROCEDURAL, DISTRIBUTIVE Meaning:- The word „justice‟ has been derived from the Latin term Justitia, which means the idea of joining or fitting, the idea of bond or tie. The joining of fitting implied in the idea of justice is that between man and man in an organized system of human relations. According to Barker justice is not only about binding man and man but also is the reconciler and the synthesis of political values. It is their union in an adjusted and integrated whole. Rawls, “Justice is a set of principles for defining the appropriate distribution of benefits and burdens of social co-operation after identifying the relevant considerations which determine this balance.” Nature of Justice It is one of the most provocative concept that contain the essence of values like Liberty, equality, rights, fraternity, dignity etc. In common parlance it is employed as just behaviour or treatment, the quality of being fair and reasonable. The essence of justice is in achieving proper balance,. In legal sense it means fair trial, a just sentence. In political theory, justice has concerned both the terms of membership of a social group and the distribution of burdens and benefits within that group. 1. In first sense it is called as Social justice 2. In second sense it is known as Distributive justice. munotes.in
Page 21
21
Liberty, Equality, Justice Plato attempts to assimilate virtue of justice with the pursuit of the common good. According to him every member of society should perform their social functions without interrupting work of others. He designed an ideal state with fixed statuses and locations of its members and thus balances in their personal roles and social functions. Aristotle was of the opinion that justice denotes an equality of proportion between person and things assigned to them, i.e., those differences in treatment should be proportional to the degrees to which individuals differ in relevant respects. The liberal view of justice emphasized on legal and political dimensions. The rule of law i.e. equality before law and equal protection of laws with provision for civil and political rights to participate in the political process are the determining characteristics of modern liberal democratic school of thought. Barker has shown that justice represents synthesis of the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. Human relations are guided by faculty of reason present in humans. It is this virtue of reason that convinces humans that all human are equal in dignity and potentially capable of acquiring excellence according to their capacities and making suitable contributions to the social good. They all need and deserve equal freedom for personal development in their own right so as to prove their worth to society. Unrestricted freedom to some is denial of liberty to others. Value of liberty demands proper balance by equality. At the same time forced or imposed equality is detrimental to the development of creative and productive tendencies of individuals. Undue emphasis on equality is against the liberty of the people. Fraternity among humans provides a common bond that keeps human relations harmonious and helps to solve and content antagonistic tendencies between liberty and equality. Thus finally justice implies that liberty should be qualified by the principle of equality and equality is further qualified by the principle of fraternity. It is a dynamic idea because our realization of it is a continuous process. Our progress towards its realization depends upon the development of our social consciousness, so that what was regarded as just some centuries ago is not so today. Bases of Justice: According to Barker there are four premises on which people generally consider a legal system just or unjust. They are namely: 1. Religion, 2. Nature, 3. Economics and in 4. Barker‟s own opinion Ethics. munotes.in
Page 22
22 Political Values and Ideologies
22 St Thomas Aquinas supported religion, Blackstone supported natural law, Duguit, Produhon, Marx regarded economics and Plat. Aristole, Hegel, Kant, Green and Barker hold that the true source of justice is to be found in ethics. Dimensions of Justice : Legal Dimensions of Justice: Law refers to the general body of rules recognized and enforced by the state and upheld by the courts. The essence of justice in any given society implies legal codes enacted by the state and supplemented by customary rules which are observed by the people. Law defines the rights and duties of individuals and associations in a community. The legal dimension of justice denotes adherence to declared rules. Political Dimension of Justice: Political justice refers to the transformation of political institutions, political process and political rights according to current conceptions of justice. It means the establishment of democratic institutions in the political life of the community so that these institutions represent and take care of the interests of the people, not of any privileged class. It also implies a full guarantee of the liberty of though and expression, especially the right to criticize the government and its policies, right to form associations and interest groups. It postulates a universal availability of the mechanism for resolving the conflicting claim of different interests in society. Social Dimension of Justice Social justice implies elimination of all kinds of discrimination and privileges on the grounds of birth, race, caste, creed or sex. Social roles should be determined on the basis of capacity and not status. There should be social mobility between the various types of occupations and trades. Economic Dimension of Justice Socialists, anarchists and the Marxists advocated that justice must be sought in the economic structure of a given society. Proudhon advocated an economic system based on the principle of mutual cooperation, Duguit stressed on social solidarity, Marxists sought to end proletariat suffering which are due to their exploitation by bourgeois, by overthrowing the existing state apparatus through a socialist revolution and establishing classless society. John Rawls’ Theory of Justice John Rawls‟ theory of justice conceptualizes a general principle of distribution which will justify the class difference in life which any society, capitalist or non-capitalist, is bound to produce. He imposes a strict limit to the amount of redistribution of income allowed by his ethical principle. This limit is governed by the market economy. munotes.in
Page 23
23
Liberty, Equality, Justice Rawls proposes to implement his distributive justice within the constraints of the classical model of the competitive capitalist market economy, in which impersonal market forces determine the level of productivity and investment. For Rawls, justice is the first virtue of social institutions as truth is of system of thought. He proposed to discard those institutions and laws however efficient or systematic they are if they are unjust. In a just society liberties of all equal citizens are assumed to be settled. The rights provided by justice are not subject to the calculation of social interests or political bargaining. Any well- ordered society he affirms is thoroughly regulated by a public conception of justice. In this society everyone accepts and shows that others acknowledge the same principles of justice and the basis social institutions satisfy these principles. Thus Rawls develops a theory of justice which can provide a standard by which the distribution arrangements of a given society can be assessed but which need not concern itself with the basic question of the ownership of the means of production. John Rawls has set forth a mode of liberal democratic society which he believes, satisfies the concept of justice as explained by him. His theory of justice is a theory of liberal democratic justice. Procedural Justice:- Exponents of procedural justice are Herbert Spencer, F.A Hayek, Milton Friedman, and Robert Nozick. It implies that it is necessary to determine a just procedure for the allocation of social advantages, viz. goods and services, opportunities and benefits, power and honours; then its outcome will automatically be accepted as just. This notion corresponds to liberalism. According to this view point the function of justice is to regulate the mutual relations between individuals and groups. Hence, the quest for justice should aim at evolving reasonable rules which should be applied impartially to all categories. Freedom of contract is the foundation of procedural justice. It requires the state to ensure that no individual or group would oppress another by force or fraud. Procedural justice treats the rules of market economy as the model rules of human behaviour. It holds that the market mechanism creates necessary conditions for the most efficient use of resources; any artificial social policy designed to disturb this process will lead to wastage of the rare material an human resources. Distributive Justice:- It implies that the allocation or distribution of social advantages among various sections of society itself should be just. It corresponds to the philosophy of socialism. It holds that test of justice in society consists in ascertaining whether the poor and the underprivileged have adequate opportunity to improve their lot. It demands that the opportunities of self –munotes.in
Page 24
24 Political Values and Ideologies
24 development should be progressively extended to the under privileged and disadvantaged sections of society. Importance of Justice:- 1) Justice is an important virtue of the society and state. It is a balancing factor which connects the concept of law, liberty, equality and rights into a well ordered and well-knit society and synthesizes of political values. 2) Justice results into wellbeing of a society as it brings a coordination between rights of an individual and interest of the community. 3) Justice is one of the most important ends of the state. QUESTIONS 1. Give meaning of Liberty. 2. Explain aspects of Liberty. 3. Write on types of Liberty. 4. Explain importance of Liberty. 5. Give the meaning of Justice. 6. Write on dimensions of Justice. 7. Write importance of Justice. 8. Define `Liberty‟ and discuss its types 9. Discuss some methods by which liberty can be safeguarded. 10. Explain various dimensions of equality. 11 Write on Justice and discuss its types. Write short notes on the following: 1. Equality 2. Liberty 3. Distributive justice 4. Procedural justice REFERENCES: Kumar Ranajay, Abbas Hoveyda.-Political Theory-Pearson India Education Services,2012. Gokhale B.K,Srinivasan .D.-Political Science –Himalaya Publishing House 20th Edition 2015. Jha Shefali-Western Political Thought from Plato to Marx-Pearson India Education Services,2010. munotes.in
Page 25
25 3 DEMOCRACY Unit Structure 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Meaning 3.3 Importance 3.4 Types of democracy 3.5 Theories of Democracy 3.6 Advantages and Disadvantages 3.1 INTRODUCTION Democracy "is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system." In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people. 3.2 MEANING Democracy is a system of government that bases its legitimacy on the participation of the people. While democratic governments come in many varieties, they are uniformly characterized by (1) competitive elections, (2) the principle of political and legal equality, and (3) a high degree of individual freedom, or civil liberties. Due to reliance on elections, democracies have as their default principle the concept of majority rule. However, one of the dominant tensions running through democratic societies is the balance struck between the will of the majority and minority rights. The compromise between these two principles differs in different democratic states. 3.3 IMPORTANCE The word 'democracy' comes from a Greek which means 'rule by the people. ' It's used to describe a system of government where power is held by the citizens. They can impact important decisions, either directly or through the people they elect. Democracy is based on freedom and equality between all people. It is a system where people have their say, they have their right to choose the kind of Government they want. It helps people to grow politically socially economically and religiously as they have their freedom of choice. Democracy allows its people to participate into the decision making process as it’s the Representatives of the people who make policies. munotes.in
Page 26
26 Political Values and Ideologies
26 3.4 TYPES OF DEMOCRACY Following are the major types of Democracy Direct democracy refers to a form of government wherein citizens out rightly take part in the administration of the government. Indirect democracy implies a democracy in which people vote for their representative, to represent them in the Parliament. Government policies are decided by the people themselves. Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracy. The theory and practice of direct democracy and participation as its common characteristic was the core of work of many theorists, philosophers, politicians, and social critics, among whom the most important is Rousseau, John Stuart Mill. In a representative democracy people vote for representatives who then enact policy initiatives. In direct democracy, people decide on policies without any intermediary. Depending on the particular system in use, direct democracy might entail passing executive decisions, the use of sortation , making laws, directly electing or dismissing officials, and conducting trials. Two leading forms of direct democracy are participatory democracy and deliberative democracy. Semi-direct democracies, in which representatives administer day-to-day governance, but the citizens remain the sovereign, allow for three forms of popular action: referendum (plebiscite), initiative, and recall. The first two forms—referendums and initiatives—are examples of direct legislation. As of 2019, thirty countries allowed for referendums initiated by the population on the national level. A compulsory referendum subjects the legislation drafted by political elites to a binding popular vote. This is the most common form of direct legislation. A popular referendum empowers citizens to make a petition that calls existing legislation to a vote by the citizens. Institutions specify the timeframe for a valid petition and the number of signatures required, and may require signatures from diverse communities to protect minority interests. This form of direct democracy effectively grants the voting public a veto on laws adopted by the elected legislature, as in Switzerland. Representative democracy or Indirect Democracy, also known as indirect democracy or representative government, is a type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies are types of representative democracies; for example, the United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, France is a unitary semi presidential republic, and the United States is a Constitutional Representative Republic. munotes.in
Page 27
27
Democracy It is an element of both the parliamentary and the presidential systems of government and is typically used in a lower chamber such as the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, or lok Sabha of India, and may be curtailed by constitutional constraints such as an upper chamber. It has been described by some political theorists including Robert A. Dahl, Gregory Houston and Ian Liebenberg as polyarchy . In it the power is in the hands of the representatives who are elected by the people. Political parties are often central to this form of democracy because electoral systems require voters to vote for political parties as opposed to individual representatives. Representative democracy involves the election of government officials by the people being represented. If the head of state is also democratically elected then it is called a democratic republic. The most common mechanisms involve election of the candidate with a majority or a plurality of the votes. Most western countries have representative systems. Representatives may be elected or become diplomatic representatives by a particular district (or constituency), or represent the entire electorate through proportional systems, with some using a combination of the two. Some representative democracies also incorporate elements of direct democracy, such as referendums. A characteristic of representative democracy is that while the representatives are elected by the people to act in the people's interest, they retain the freedom to exercise their own judgement as how best to do so. Such reasons have driven criticism upon representative democracy, pointing out the contradictions of representation mechanisms with democracy. Parliamentary Parliamentary System Parliamentary democracy is a representative democracy where government is appointed by, or can be dismissed by, a representative as opposed to a "presidential rule" wherein the president is both head of state and the head of government and is elected by the voters. Under a parliamentary democracy, government is exercised by delegation to an executive ministry and subject to ongoing review, checks and balances by the legislative parliament elected by the people. Parliamentary systems have the right to dismiss a Prime Minister at any point in time that they feel he or she is not doing their job to the expectations of the legislature. This is done through a Vote of No Confidence where the legislature decides whether or not to remove the Prime Minister from office by a majority support for his or her dismissal. In some countries, the Prime Minister can also call an election whenever he or she so chooses, and typically the Prime Minister will hold an election when he or she knows that they are in good favour with the public as to get re-elected. In other parliamentary democracies, extra elections are virtually never held, a minority government being preferred until the next ordinary elections. An important feature of the parliamentary munotes.in
Page 28
28 Political Values and Ideologies
28 democracy is the concept of the loyal opposition. The essence of the concept is that the second largest political party (or coalition) opposes the governing party (or coalition), while still remaining loyal to the state and its democratic principles. Presidential Presidential System Presidential Democracy is a system where the public elects the president through free and fair elections. The president serves as both the head of state and head of government controlling most of the executive powers. The president serves for a specific term and cannot exceed that amount of time. Elections typically have a fixed date and aren't easily changed. The president has direct control over the cabinet, specifically appointing the cabinet members.[176] The president cannot be easily removed from office by the legislature, but he or she cannot remove members of the legislative branch any more easily. This provides some measure of separation of power. In consequence, however, the president and the legislature may end up in the control of separate parties, allowing one to block the other and thereby interfere with the orderly operation of the state. This may be the reason why presidential democracy is not very common outside the Americas, Africa, and Central and Southeast Asia. A semi- Presidential system is a system of democracy in which the government includes both a prime minister and a president. The particular powers held by the prime minister and president vary by country. Hybrid or semi-direct: Some modern democracies that are predominantly representative in nature also heavily rely upon forms of political action that are directly democratic. These democracies, which combine elements of representative democracy and direct democracy, are termed hybrid democracies semi-direct democracies or participatory democracies.. Between January 1995 and June 2005, Swiss citizens voted 31 times, to answer 103 questions (during the same period, French citizens participated in only two referendums. Although in the past 120 years less than 250 initiatives have been put to referendum. The populace has been conservative, approving only about 10% of the initiatives put before them; in addition, they have often opted for a version of the initiative rewritten by government. In the , no mechanisms of direct democracy exists at the federal level, but over half of the states and many localities provide for citizen-sponsored ballot initiatives (also called "ballot measures", "ballot questions" or "propositions"), and the vast majority of states allow for referendums. Examples include the extensive use of referendums in the US state of California, which is a state that has more than 20 million voters. munotes.in
Page 29
29
Democracy 3.5 THEORIES OF DEMOCRACY Early theory: Aristotle contrasted rule by the many democracy, with rule by the few (oligarchy /aristocracy), and with rule by a single person (tyranny or today autocracy/absolute monarchy). He also thought that there was a good and a bad variant of each system he considered democracy to be the degenerate counterpart to timocracy. A common view among early and renaissance Republican theorists was that democracy could only survive in small political communities. Heeding the lessons of the Roman Republic's shift to monarchism as it grew larger or smaller; these Republican theorists held that the expansion of territory and population inevitably led to tyranny. Democracy was therefore highly fragile and rare historically, as it could only survive in small political units, which due to their size were vulnerable to conquest by larger political units. Montesquieu famously said, "if a republic is small, it is destroyed by an outside force; if it is large, it is destroyed by an internal vice Contemporary theory. Among modern political theorists, there are three contending conceptions of democracy: aggregative democracy, deliberative democracy, and radical democracy. Aggregative The theory of aggregative democracy claims that the aim of the democratic processes is to solicit citizens' preferences and aggregate them together to determine what social policies society should adopt. Therefore, proponents of this view hold that democratic participation should primarily focus on voting , where the policy with the most votes gets implemented. According to the theory of direct democracy, on the other hand, citizens should vote directly, not through their representatives, on legislative proposals. Proponents of direct democracy offer varied reasons to support this view. Political activity can be valuable in itself, it socialises and educates citizens, and popular participation can check powerful elites. Most importantly, citizens do not rule themselves unless they directly decide laws and policies. Governments will tend to produce laws and policies that are close to the views of the median voter—with half to their left and the other half to their right. This is not a desirable outcome as it represents the action of self-interested and somewhat unaccountable political elites competing for votes. Robert A. Dahl argues that the fundamental democratic principle is that, when it comes to binding collective decisions, each person in a political community is entitled to have his/her interests be given equal consideration (not necessarily that all people are equally satisfied by the collective decision). He uses the term polyarchy to refer to societies in which there exists a certain set of institutions and procedures which are munotes.in
Page 30
30 Political Values and Ideologies
30 perceived as leading to such democracy. First and foremost among these institutions is the regular occurrence of free and open elections which are used to select representatives who then manage all or most of the public policy of the society. However, these polyarchic procedures may not create a full democracy if, for example, poverty prevents political participation .Similarly, Ronald Dworkin argues that "democracy is a substantive, not a merely procedural, ideal." Deliberative: Deliberative Democracy is based on the notion that democracy is government by deliberation. Unlike aggregative democracy, deliberative democracy holds that, for a democratic decision to be legitimate, it must be preceded by authentic deliberation, not merely the aggregation of preferences that occurs in voting. Authentic deliberation is deliberation among decision-makers that is free from distortions of unequal political power, such as power a decision-maker obtained through economic wealth or the support of interest group. If the decision-makers cannot reach consensus after authentically deliberating on a proposal, then they vote on the proposal using a form of majority rule. Citizen’s assemblies are considered by many scholars as practical examples of deliberative democracy, with a recent OECD report identifying citizen’s assemblies as an increasingly popular mechanism to involve citizens in governmental decision-making. Radical Based on the idea that there are hierarchical and oppressive power relations that exist in society . Democracy's role is to make visible and challenge those relations by allowing for difference, dissent and antagonisms in decision-making processes. It’s a type of democracy that advocates the radical extension of equality and liberty. Radical democracy is concerned with a radical extension of equality and freedom , following the idea that democracy is an un-finished, inclusive, continuous and reflexive process. 3.6 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DEMOCRACY Democracy is a system of government where the entire population or eligible members of the state have the opportunity to vote on issues directly or send someone that they elect to make those decisions on their behalf. It is a governing structure where rule comes from the people instead of the military or state. Although it is an option that is usually associated with the United States, the Declaration of Independence makes no word of this option. The founding fathers of the United States actually feared the idea of democratic rule. James Madison mentioned in one of the federalist papers that this form of government could lead to confusion, instability, and injustice. They were scared that a popular government would eventually perish because that was happening more often than not everyone else in the world. munotes.in
Page 31
31
Democracy What history does not always remember is that the Roman Empire once had a working democracy during the early years of their existence. You can even visit the Forum still to this day, which is where their meetings and votes were held. Even Vladimir Lenin felt that democracy was the goal of communism, using a dictator to control the proletariat until such a status became possible. Now many believe that a democracy is the best form of government that is available today because it gives each person the freedom to have a voice . These are the advantages and disadvantages of such a system to consider. List of the Advantages of Democracy 1. Democracies give people a chance to become personally involved with their government. Because the government in a democracy is under the control of the people and their voice, then it is up to each individual to decide their fate. People can choose to vote in whatever way their morality dictates. Some even give voters the option to not vote if that is what they feel is the best way to express their opinion. Every ballot is an opportunity to express one’s personal opinion. Whether that voice lands in the majority or not, there is an agreement in a democracy that the tally of the vote stands unless there is a clear moral objection to the outcome. A community won’t object over the failure of a tax levy for a swimming pool, but the judicial system might step in if the people vote to accept a local ordinance that allows slavery. 2. The structure of a democracy works to reduce issues with exploitation. All government formations are sensitive to exploitation because of the people who get elected into powerful positions. The contrast with democracy is that the authorities are distributed more equally within it. The ruling documents in this structure create checks and balances to assure that no single person receives supreme power over the legislative process. Democracies prevent elected officials from ignoring the needs of the general population to help themselves. It challenges them to represent the needs of each community so that everyone receives an equal opportunity to pursue their dreams. 3. A democracy encourages equality in a positive way. The structure of a democracy gives every vote an equal amount of weight during an election. This option gives each person the chance to cast a ballot without judgment when they register for this process, providing an opinion that despite their social or economic status. Everything “yes” or “no” counts as one, whether you are rich or poor, own land or not, of express your gender in a specific way. “Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality,” said Alexis de Tocqueville. “But notice the difference; munotes.in
Page 32
32 Political Values and Ideologies
32 while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.” 4. Democracies usually grow faster economically than other forms of government. The freedom offered in the structures of democracy allows the general population to seek any result they want. Although legal barriers exist to prevent one person from hurting another, this governing structure grants the freedom to look for different employment opportunities, schools, or even places to live. The choice remains with your voice. You get an opportunity to seek what you are enthusiastic about in this life. The structure of democracy makes it possible for everyone to stay fruitful with their work because they are always employing their strengths. That is why the gross domestic product of a country which features constitutional arrangements is typically larger. 5. There is more consistency available in democracy than other government structures. There is more unity in the governing process with democracy because the general population holds the right to vote on resolutions. This arrangement can take different styles, but the result is generally the same. Each person gets the chance to express their view at their polling stations by casting a vote. That process allows each community to continue pursuing the specific results that they feel are helpful, or they can switch directions to try something new. The structure of democracy makes it possible for everyone to come together in a way that forms society in ways that are helpful for virtually all people. 6. Democracy does not create a centralized power base for ruling over the people. The United States uses a centralized form of governing, but there are equal powers distributed between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Voters have an opportunity to change their elected officials every 2-6 years as a way to control their destiny. In a direct democracy, every decision would be placed to a vote for a supreme level of control. Either way, there is no centralized power that can dictate what people can or cannot do. Every branch of the government must agree on the process. Then each community can make decisions with their voting power to overturn unwanted rules and regulations to evolve life over time. 7. People identify with their government to create a stronger level of patriotism. The structures of democracy are unique because they allow everyone to fight for the things that they want in life. Each person can pursue their dreams, working to mold society in a vision that meets their expectations. Even when that idea runs counter to what the majority wants or falls outside of an expected window of morality, there is an munotes.in
Page 33
33
Democracy ability to express those ideas assuming that others are not hurt by such an effort. That is why there is more loyalty and patriotism present in democracy. Even when there is disagreement in the community, everyone still has the common ground of their nation to fall back upon when forming their identity. Everyone contributes in their own way, which this governing structure celebrates. Other governments can dictate those choices. 8. Countries who use democracy are less likely to enter into armed conflicts. As democracy has come through Europe once again, the levels of warfare between the major nations on the continent have decreased significantly. There have been fewer conflicts in the past 50 years than at any other time in history. Although the United States is an exception to this advantage because of the country’s status on the global stage, most nations who focus on a democracy avoid battles instead of chasing after them. That means there are fewer issues with violent rebellion within democratic societies as well. Decisions must route through various legislative bodies or the people, which reduces the pursuit of war on a whim. There are fewer coup attempts within this governing structure as well. 9. A democracy transitions power smoothly while establishing legitimacy. Democracy creates an appropriate structure of government for every person because voters select who will be in charge or how policies are made if a direct form of governing is in place. This process demands that each candidate for office declare before their voters the reasons why they are the best person to represent each community. By winning an election, it becomes possible to establish legitimacy for political candidates or referendums that other forms of governing cannot provide. When leaders change in democracy, the checks and balances offered by this format make it possible to produce smooth transitions when power changes hands. There are fewer arguments about who becomes the replacement for any position. This outcome occurs because each job is either directed by the people or filled by someone who won an election. 10. It encourages centrism more than extremism. Even in this current wave of populism that is happening around the world, the format of democracy encourages people to come to the center more often than it favors the extreme. There are times when a complete majority of a single party can win an election, but even then, there can be enough disagreement within the ranks that compromises must happen. This process makes it possible for voters or their representatives to aggregate the different needs of each community toward a coherent policy that protects the needs of munotes.in
Page 34
34 Political Values and Ideologies
34 everyone. That ensures that the interests of each segment of society can receive the protection they need while providing a higher level of accountability for the governing actions which occur. List of the Disadvantages of Democracy 1. Democracy is ineffective unless voters educate themselves on governing decisions. A democracy allows an individual to cast a vote either directly or through a preferred representative on the issues that the government must manage. There is no direction as to how voters approach this responsibility. Although some people will educate themselves on each issue to offer an experienced opinion, there is no requirement to go through all of this work. Someone can turn in a ballot that is a straight-party ticket with no consideration about the individual views or needs. President Teddy Roosevelt reportedly once said this: “A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.” 2. The structure of democracy depends upon the will of the majority. History has taught us that the will of the majority is not always the ethical or moral position that one should take. We have dealt with issues like slavery, discrimination, and gender inequality in the past because the perspective of the those with the most votes say that society deserves to have those elements. If someone finds themselves outside of the will of the majority more often than not, then it will feel like their vote doesn’t really count for something. “Majority rule only works if you’re also considering individual rights,” said Larry Flynt. “Because you can’t have five wolves and one sheep voting on what they should all be having for supper.” 3. Democracy can encourage mob rule. People are migrating toward neighborhoods, employment opportunities, and even relationships based on how comfortable they are around other people. The prevalence is to have neighbors and friends who have a like-minded perspective because there is a fear present in democracy of being wrong. No one wants to be stuck on the outside looking in when it comes to governing. Some states in the U.S. are even becoming polarized as families keep moving to stay within their comfort zone. Democracies encourage mob thinking because every election becomes an “us vs. them” edict. “Remember,” Will Rogers reportedly warned, “democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” 4. The cost of democracy is something that many people don’t realize exists. Democracy is one of the least cost-efficient forms of governing that exists today. The time and currency resources that are necessary to conduct an election can cost billions of dollars. Even a local election for city council, mayor, or a school board can cost six figures. The Presidential elections every four years in the United States are munotes.in
Page 35
35
Democracy measured in the billions. Although it is useful to have the people to have power in their voice, their taxes are what are used to create that opportunity. “Democracy is the worst form of government,” warned Winston Churchill, “except for all of the others.” 5. Democracy requires more time to implement changes. Centralized government structures can make declarations on rules, regulations, or responses that are not always possible in a democratic structure. Voting requires time to review the information provided by each election. That means processes slow down to the point where it can take several years to create significant changes. There may only be 1-2 legislative bills that come through in an entire session that go beyond the typical budgets, committees, and nominations that officials manage. It even takes more time at the local level to make decisions with democracy because each referendum must go to the voters. Every decision is up for review potentially. That means there is always a certain level of uncertainty. 6. The structure of a democracy is a person-first process. Elections usually involve the opinions or thoughts of each person based on what individuals want for themselves. Instead of looking at what might be useful for the rest of society, most voters gauge what they put on their ballot based on what affects their checking account, taxes, or overall cost of living. It is a process which encourages everyone to put their needs before others. When people are voting based on personal interests, then it creates discontent in society because it feels like the majority tries to suppress the minority. That is why there must be an emphasis on protecting the rights of those who find themselves on the outside. 7. There is still the risk of creating a conflict of interest within the government. Most people work to retain what they have after it is earned. That is why families keep making mortgage or rental payments, managers continue to reinforce their expertise, and politicians do their best to stay in power. Democracies put structures into place to limit the impact of one person on the overall society, but it was not always that way. Franklin D. Roosevelt served in office from March 1933 to April 1945. He served as the 32nd President won a record four Presidential elections, becoming a central figure in the events that shaped the world during that time. His New Deal program was a direct response to the Great Depression. Now an amendment limits the number of terms that the executive branch can serve. munotes.in
Page 36
36 Political Values and Ideologies
36 8. Democratic governments follow the “a chicken in every pot” system. Democracy does not require the same level of accountability if it is established in representative form. The goal of a politician is to receive the most votes. Once that person gets into office, there are fewer controls in place to recall that person if they do not accurately represent what their community wants. The only method to stop this in some countries is to vote in a different person during the next election. Empty promises are common in direct democracies as well. When there is an incentive to offer everything without the requirement to fulfill your word, then you’ll see more lies than truth in the daily conversations about governing that occur. 9. Gridlock occurs frequently in democratic structures. There is no incentive for people to work together when another election can change the outcome in the future. The United States encountered this disadvantage when a Supreme Court opening occurred during the final year of President Obama’s term in office. Republicans in Congress refused to even hold hearings with his nominee because of the upcoming election, which President Trump eventually won. When there is no incentive to work together, then partisan politics become the conversation of government. It is especially bad in two-party systems, but this disadvantage is present in all democracies as well. 10. It can require individual voters to accept an entire mandate for a single issue. Conservatives in the United States would argue that it is challenging to vote for the average Democrat because of their views on abortion. Liberals would make the same point when discussing LGBTQIA+ rights. Unless there is a direct democracy structure in place, voters must accept an entire manifesto to vote on the issues which are critical to their needs . Instead of having a candidate who truly represents them, they must pick the platform which is the closest to their stance. Verdict on the Advantages and Disadvantages of Democracy “The right to vote is a consequence, not a primary cause, of a free social system,” said Ayn Rand, “and its value depends on the constitutional structure implementing and strictly delimiting the voters’ power; unlimited majority rule is an instance of the principle of tyranny.” That is the danger of democracy. When the majority can pull the strings of society without there being legislation in place to protect the rights of the minority, then it creates a severe risk of oppression. We must remember that some classes of people in the U.S. have only had the right to vote for less than a century – including women. munotes.in
Page 37
37
Democracy The advantages and disadvantages of democracy are essential to review because any governing structure can be abused under the right set of circumstances. We must ensure that enough checks and balances exist in this system to protect everyone instead of an elite class that can control everything. If power moves away from the people to only a privileged few, then it is only a handful of steps away from a dictatorship. References: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE,UTPAL ROY, CALCUTTA BOOK HOUSE. POLITICAL SCIENCE , B.K.GOKHALE, HIMALAYA PUBLISHING HOUSE. POLITICAL SCIENCE, LATE B.K. GOKHALE,D. SRINIVASAN. munotes.in
Page 38
38 Political Values and Ideologies
38 4 POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 4.1 MARXISM Unit Structure 4.1.1 Objectives 4.1.2 Introduction 4.1.3 Tenets of Marxism 4.1.4 Critical Appraisal of Marxism 4.1.5 Conclusion 4.1.6 Questions 4.1.1 OBJECTIVES: Every political institution works on any political ideologies which define the nature of the state. Political ideologies state the tenets of the state. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the political ideologies to understand the nature of the state which would help to maintain relations with other states. 4.1.2 INTRODUCTION Ideology is a set of ideas, beliefs or philosophies concerning social, political, economic and cultural issues. A set of ideas belongs to a group who adheres to its basic tenets. Ideology becomes a philosophical or normative tool to bring socio-political change. For instance, the ideology of Marxism was introduced to bring change in a capitalist society. Thus, ideology plays an important role in the socio-political and economic sphere. Ideology The term ideology was first coined by Destutt Tracy in 1796. It is a combination of two words “ideas” and “logy”, i.e. the science of ideas. In the sphere of Political Theory, Political Ideologies can be understood in two ways, they are as follows: i) As a Political Program of Action: Ideology makes its followers oblige by its rules and shape the political reality based on that ideology. For instance, if there are followers of Socialism, they will try to convert democratic society into socialistic society and if people do not agree to this ideology, conflict occurs. ii) A World View: Ideology is also considered as a world view. It tells us about human nature, the purpose of human life. Nature of state and society, man’s munotes.in
Page 39
39
Marxism rights and obligations. For instance, Feminism describes the human nature against inequality and purpose of life as to bring social, political and economic equality among both the males and females. Although there are many ideologies in Political Theory, in this unit we will look into three main ideologies which transform the nature of society. Definition of Ideology Carl Friedrich: Ideology offers a reasonably coherent body of ideas concerning practical means of constructing such a society. Oxford Dictionary: Ideology is a system of ideas and ideals, especially of which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy. Marx & Engels: Both the thinkers regarded ideology as a potentially dangerous form of illusion and mystification that typically serves to conceal and maintain exploitative social relations. 4.1.3 MARXISM Marxism is in reality, an economic philosophy that presents its worldview about social and political phenomena. It is being derived from the views of Karl Marx, a German Philosopher, Economists, Sociologist, Historian and Journalist. Marxism appeared in the middle of the 19th Century, as a response of the oppressive capitalist system. Liberalism with the ideology of Laissez-Faire (i.e. less or no intervention of government in markets) was able to establish a capitalist society, but it failed to establish human freedom. In response to this absence of human freedom, Karl Marx had this view of Marxism. Before looking at the tenets of Marxism let’s have a look at what were the drawbacks of Liberalism, why there was a need to introduce an ideology of Marxism. Liberalism led to the accumulation of power and wealth in certain sections of society, i.e. Capitalists who owned the means of production and deprived others with everything. It led to tremendous economic inequality and injustice Therefore, to provide solutions to these issues Karl Marx and his friend Fredrich Engels proposed Marxism; a scientific foundation of Socialism. 4.1.4 BASIC TENETS OF MARXISM: Dialectical Materialism Historical Materialism The doctrine of Class Conflict munotes.in
Page 40
40 Political Values and Ideologies
40 Theory of Surplus Value Theory of Class War The Dictatorship of the Proletariat Withering away of the state and Class conflict a) Dialectical Materialism: Dialectical Materialism is based on the philosophical ideology, which says that the universe and everything in the universe are natural based on nature’s law. Therefore, there is nothing such as supernatural. The word “Dialectic” is being derived from the Greek word “Diego”, which means discussion or debate or discourse. In this debate, the contradictory argument is also considered to find out the truth. Many scholars had their views on the premises of Dialectics. Marx was inspired by Hegel’s dialectics which includes Thesis; an original idea or the truth which is prevalent in the society, Antithesis; contradicts thesis and the result of both is Synthesis. This synthesis becomes thesis after some time and the whole cycle repeats itself. Although Marx was inspired by Hegelian Dialectics, he rejected its idealistic approach and adopted materialism. Marx has said that his dialectics method is not only different from the Hegelian, but it is the direct opposite of it. For Hegel, the idea was important which portrays the real world, the real world is a reflection of ideas. But Marx believed that ‘matter’ was the essence of the universe and social institutions were manifestations of changing material conditions. He explained Dialectical Materialism in the following points. Dialectical Materialism asserts that entire nature is a single entity, all-natural phenomena are interconnected and therefore no single phenomenon can be properly understood in isolation. Secondly, Dialectical Materialism states that nature is not static, it is bound to change. Therefore, according to it, if any anyone wants to find out about nature, they must also take care of its changing pattern. Dialectical Materialism says that any quantitative change leads to qualitative change. Let’s elaborate it more clearly, the birth of the new or the disappearance of the old is considered as Qualitative changes, whereas all other things in which something increases or decreases is Quantitative change. Nature tends to change quantitatively continuously, and when it reaches its zenith it brings qualitative change. For instance, Indian National Movement was continuing from many years leading to quantitative changes and when it reached its zenith within the midnight stroke there was a qualitative change of Indian Independence on 15th August 1947. munotes.in
Page 41
41
Marxism Dialectical Materialism says that nature possesses its inbuilt contradictions, i.e. their positive and negative aspects are present in it. This leads to the negation of the present idea and then a new idea emerges which is again negated by a new idea and this cycle moves on. This is known as Negation of Negation. It is similar to Hegelian Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis. To explain it let’s take an example, Primitive society was a cohesive society in which they used primitive tools to survive. When the tools developed and private property emerged there started conflicts and it led to the slave-owning society. When the slave-owning society had its contradiction amongst itself it led to the Feudal society. This meant that there was the negation of the negation. The slave-owning society was the negation of primitive society and feudal society became negation of slave-owning society. It further moved into a negation of feudal society into a Capitalist society which was further negated by the Socialist society. This means that there are ideas in a society which is contradicted by its flaws and a new idea emerges and that is also negated further by its contradictions. b) Historical Materialism: It is also known as Materialistic Interpretation of History. It is a scientific basis of Marxism. It says that in any history, economic relation plays an important role. Here, economic relations mean modes of production of material values are the real forces which can bring change in the social system. According to Marx, there are two ways to understand the structure of society i.e. it's base (the foundation or substructure) and superstructure (external build-up). The superstructure is represented by its legal and political structure, religion, morals, social practices, literature, art and culture, etc. The base consists of the mode of production with its components i.e. I. Forces of production Which includes means of production (tools and equipment) and labour power (human knowledge and skills). There is always an attempt to develop technology, which further develops human skills. II Relations of production In any given history is determined by the pattern of ownership of the means of social production, which gives rise to two contending classes haves and have nots. Changes in means of production have never brought a change in the pattern of ownership. There always remained class conflict. In ancient times there was class conflict among Master and Slave within household-based small-scale production. In Medieval times, when large scale agriculture-based production came, there munotes.in
Page 42
42 Political Values and Ideologies
42 used to be Lords and Serfs and in Modern times with large scale, machine-based production there emerged a new class i.e. Capitalist and Worker. C. The doctrine of Class Conflict: Class Struggle is an integral part of historical materialism. The opening sentence of Communist Manifesto reads: “The history of all hitherto society is the history of class struggles.” Marx said that there is a division of society since the emergence of private property. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-masters and journeyman i.e. Oppressor and Oppressed were always their since the private property emerged.
The genesis of Class Conflict: In ancient slave-owning society the haves were the masters and have nots were the slaves, in medieval feudal society there were lords and serfs and in a modern capitalist society, there was the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and proletariats (workers). The bourgeoisie is the class of modern capitalists, owners of means of social production. Proletariats are the class of modern wage labourers, with no means of production. The bourgeoisie uses its economic as well as political power to exploit the proletariats. According to Marx and Engels, to end this class conflict there must be a revolution. Revolution by the proletariats against bourgeoisie class to make the classless society. munotes.in
Page 43
43
Marxism D. Theory of Surplus Value: The doctrine of class conflict represents the sociological basis of Marxism; economist point of view is represented by Surplus value theory. Marx was inspired by Classical Economist David Ricardo and his theory of value. According to this theory, the value of a thing is determined by the quantity of labour employed in its production. For instance, the price of wood is Rs. 10 and when labour turns it into a table, its price increases to Rs. 20 This addition of Rs. 10 belongs to labour. But due to his less bargaining power, they get very less. Taking cue from this theory, Marx criticised Capitalism by saying, “Labour is the sole creator of Value, among all the other factors of production i.e. Land, Labour, Capital and Organisation. The other three land, capital and organisation produce whatever is put in them. Labour is the only element which produces value in society. Therefore, the value of a commodity is the product of labour. Raw materials are turned into commodities with the use of labour. Further, Marx argues that labour is also a commodity, and its value is fixed like that of any other commodity. It is determined by the amount which is required by the labour to maintain himself. Therefore, labour must get wages enough to maintain his family. But Marx says labour only gets wages and the additional value produced by labour is taken as interest and profit by Capitalists as they are the owners of means of production on which the labour works. To ensure production, bourgeoisie only wants workers/ proletariats barely to survive, therefore, the wages are too less. Therefore, according to Marx, the difference between the value that is actually created by labour and what he receives is called Surplus value.
Marx says, there are two values; necessary value and the surplus-value. The wages which the labours get is the equivalent of the necessary value. The balance which is rightful of the labour is denied to him. Marx said that this Surplus value will become larger and larger as capitalism advances. Due to this mechanised production will be boosted and fewer workers will be demanded. The wages will come down as labours’ supply will be more than demand. The smaller capitalists will be out from the business as they will not be able to employ more capital therefore, they will join proletariats class. So, again there will be more labours and less demand for labours, again wages will fall. This will expand the surplus-value. Marx said when this exploitation of proletariats will go beyond endurance, the revolution is inevitable. This revolution munotes.in
Page 44
44 Political Values and Ideologies
44 will lead to the fall of capitalism to the end of exploitation. After the fall of capitalists, the classless society will emerge. Theory of Class War: In this theory, Marx tried to say that a constant struggle between the oppressed and oppressor is recorded throughout the history of mankind, either openly or hidden. Marx said, in the past workers did not revolt as they didn’t know that they were exploited. But in Capitalism the exploitation is at its peak and therefore, the workers must unite and revolt against Capitalists. The Communists Manifesto of Karl Marx appeals to the proletariats to unite to overthrow the capitalists socio-economic and political order. The proletariats have nothing to lose but their chains, they have a world to win. The proletariats would then seize the political power and control over all means of production which will establish socialist order for the welfare of all. Therefore, to transform society from Capitalism to Socialism, the workers must unite and revolt. E. The Dictatorship of the Proletariats: The Marxian idea of revolution will lead to the destruction of capitalists and the proletariats will come into power. This will lead to the dictatorship of proletariats. According to Marx, this dictatorship of the proletariat is a democracy, because it implies control by the vast majority. Marx said the Proletarian dictatorship will confiscate all private capital, organise labour, compel all to work, centralise credit and finance established state factories, concentrate means of transport and speed up production. The road to socialism lies through a period of the highest possible intensification of the state. He said as the task will be accomplished, the force will reduce and the dictatorship of the proletariats will own and operate the instruments of production and no sign of exploitation will be there. This will lead to a society with only one class, the state will no longer be necessary and so will wither away. F. Withering away of the state and classless society: Karl Marx viewed the state as a “Class Institution” used by the bourgeoisie for the exploitation of the proletariats. Once the capitalists' order is abolished, the rationale for the existence of the state would not exist and therefore, the activity will be controlled by proletariats and there will be nothing like private property. Once the state is withering away, there would be a free society of voluntary associations formed for the transaction of public business. This would be a classless society: a new world. Critical Appraisal of Marxism Harold Laski observed that Marxism is a strong critical aspect and has brilliantly exposed the injustices in the capitalist society. But he said that it is invaluable. He said that the fundamentals of Marxism are unacceptable and not its philosophical concept about workers. Laski argued that the indictment of Marxism against capitalism is the most terrible in any standards. munotes.in
Page 45
45
Marxism Materialistic Interpretation of History is one-sided Critics of Marxism argue that the materialistic interpretation of history is one-sided that focuses only on economic aspects and neglects the significance of other non-economic factors in history. As Karl Popper criticises, by saying that Marx has given a wrong interpretation of history and capitalism. He also said that Marx has given very much importance to Economy and side-lined nationality, friendship, religion, culture, political condition and sex. Utopian Predictions Marxism’s idea of a new society with no exploitation and no class was a Utopian idea according to Sabine. Harrington pointed out that Marx has put an excellent idea of against capitalism but failed to provide an alternative to it. Suppression of Individual Rights Marxism has over-focused on the community and has ignored the right of the individual. Opponents of lash out at Marxism by arguing that the society Marx has predicted may result in rejection of individual rights. It is noteworthy that liberals have proposed a capitalist system for complete development of the nation and rejects Marxian way of national development. Inconsistency: Critics allege that Marx’s surplus-value theory and the law of the tendency of the rate of profit to all are internally inconsistent. Critics argue Marx’s theoretical promises to profit no longer holds as the exploitation of workers is the sole source of profit. 4.1.5 CONCLUSION Thus, Marxism is a theory against the exploitation of Capitalists on Workers. The reforms have been proposed to bring changes in the society and to wither away the state which has become a tool of exploitation of the workers. 4.1.6 QUESTIONS Q.1 What is ideology? Discuss the importance of Marxism Q.2 Discuss basic tenets of Marxism Q.3 Critically evaluate the relevance of Marxism munotes.in
Page 46
46 Political Values and Ideologies
46 4.2 FASCISM Unit Structure 4.2.1 Objectives 4.2.2 Introduction 4.2.3 Tenets of Fascism 4.2.3 Critical Appraisal of Fascism 4.2.4 Conclusion 4.2.5 Questions 4.2.1 Objectives The emergence of Fascism is associated with the World Wars that happened in the first half of the 20th century and shook the world with its ethnic dominant policy and practice. The first decade of the 21st Century has witnessed the emergence of populist governments across the world that witness reemergence of fascism. This unit will be helpful to understand the concept of fascism and its origin in the 20th Century and its connection to the present. 4.2.2 Introduction Fascism is considered a Complex ideology in Political theory. It has been founded by Benito Mussolini in 1919 under the movement in Italy. For this movement, Mussolini had his group to bring revolutionary changes in the political structures of Italy. The term Fascism has been derived from the word “Fasci” which means a bundle of rods with a red cord around an axe helve which was borne before the Roman consuls by the Lictors (i.e. the magisterial attendants) as a symbol of public power. Fascism was against Liberalism and Marxism. Fascism had some theoretical principles to mobilize people towards it. In politics, Fascism is considered a sick mental attitude without any morals and reason. It poses danger to peace and freedom in the world. 4.2.3 Basic Tenets of Fascism: Reaction to Democracy: Fascism emerged as a theory of reaction to democracy, socialism and communism. Democracy and communism represented progressive forces of the modern age, but fascism promoted a movement in the reverse direction. It supported oppressive, repressive social and political conditions and policy. It is against the liberal-democratic cult of reasoning and believes on faith and emotions as the motive force of human actions. Fascism considers the state as an end and an individual as a means instead of an individual as an end and state as a means. It gives more importance to the state rather than an individual. It wants to establish a monopoly of the state in internal as well as external matters. It does not allow any organisation or human association to represent the loyalty of the state. It only wants to establish its supremacy in the state. Thus, it opposes the munotes.in
Page 47
47
Fascism liberal democratic view of pluralism. In the international scenario, it does not support international organisations for dispute settlement and wants to rely upon military strength. Fascism rejects the progressive doctrine of human equality and believes in unity through homogeneity and rejects heterogeneity. The fascist rejection for democracy can be seen in its dictator rule and concentration of political power in the hands of a single political party. Fascism created by Mussolini strived to engender mass enthusiasm and set aside constitutional democracy for enhancement of prestige and power of the dictator. Authoritarian in Nature: Fascism is regarded as form ofa far right authoritarian dictatorial power which forcebly supress the opposition. Authoritarianism is a principe which belives in blind submissioin to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of thought and action. In political context, authoritarian can be explained as a political system that centralises power in the hands of a leader who is not constitutionally accountable to the people. Fascist belive use of power for self interest excercised arbitratray without regards to the existed body of laws. Protects Corporate Interests: Fascism started as a revolution wanted to change the social and political structure of the society in Italy. Fascism may be considered as Counter-Revolutionary because it sought to promote economic control in fewer hands and also to stop sharing of political power. Under fascism, masses are left with no rights or safeguards against any oppression by the rulers. In liberal capitalism, capitalists are somewhat bound to pay the concessions but in fascism, there is no chance of paying the price. The profit-making motive of the capitalists are not restricted and this leads to more exploitation of workers and reduction in wages. Controlled Mass Media: Fascism also suggests putting a curb on individual liberty by obstructing the supply of true news. All kinds of the press would be under the control of the government. The neutral civil services and supremacy of judiciary are restricted in Fascism. It is totally under the control of armed forces. In short, Fascism seeks to avoid capitalist society into democratic welfare society and tends to maintain the exploitative nature of the capitalist pattern in the name of national interest, national unity, discipline, industrial peace and higher production. Obessed with Extreme Nationalism & National Security: Fascism repudiates the theory of class conflict in favour of organic unity of the nation-state that claims to represent a unified national interest. It tends to project an image of a unified nation with an indivisible interest to repudiate the theory of class conflict. According to Laski fascism sought to serve the interests of the capitalist class at the expense of the masses. It only created the myth on the name of the nation and exploited the masses. Instead of serving the nation it only munotes.in
Page 48
48 Political Values and Ideologies
48 sought to exploit the prevailing social tensions and crises to bring absolute authority and unquestioning obedience. In short, Fascism dealt with action and did not believe in ideas. It believed in community spirit and considered individual as dangerous. It believed that people should work for the nation. It believed that a nation should have a strong military, a nation’s power is demonstrated by its military strength. It sought only one party to have a common unified voice in the nation. It believed that government can use violence and the threat of violence to rule the people. Thus, fascism is a highly nationalistic, militaristic and totalitarian political ideology. Propaganda an Rhetoric: Propognad is a method used to influence public opinion and to make public opioni in favour. It means, propaganda disseminates information, facts, arguments and spread rumors or lies among the people. Disregards for Human Rights: Fascist leaders ignore human rights with the fear that the enemies will use human rights propaganda to destroy national security. It fears that human rights movements may develop self respect among the people that may make them to revolt against state. Therefore, fascism use exteme wasy like torture, prisoners, executions and assassination of people in the name of natiaon security. Critica Appraisal Fascism has been tyrannical and anti-democratic. It has been criticised by manh scholars on gound of ideological base. However, liberals, Marxist and critical theorist were forefront of this critics. Libersals cirtic of Fascism: Liberals criticised it because of its totalitarian nature of ruling by only one party or one person. The main criticism of liberals is the nature of restriction against human liberty and subordinating the individual to the absolute authority of the state. a) Liberals also criticised fascism for its accentuation of the irrational nature of human nature. Liberalism pleads for man’s freedom by treating him as a rational being. b) Liberalism also criticised fascism as it does not treat human as equal and considers a single person or single party to rule in the state. It is against the pluralistic nature of society. c) Liberals criticised it for its nature of complete demolition of constitutional government which is the guarantee of human rights. Marxists critic of Fascism: Marxist thinkers criticised Fascism by saying that it is an attempt to protect capitalism. “It argues that fascism represents the last attempt of a capitalist to preserve its grip on power in the face of munotes.in
Page 49
49
Fascism an imminent proletarian revolution. Once in power, the fascists serve the interests of their benefactors.” 4.2.5 Conclusion Thus, Fascism represents a sick mental and political attitude. It fosters anti-human anti-progressive forces. It seeks to curb liberty and equality and to distort justice. Unit End Question: 1. What are the basic tenets of Marxism? 2. Elaborate on the Critical Appraisals of Marxism. 3. Write a note on the characteristics of Fascism. 4. How Feminism was originated? 5. Write a note on three waves of Feminism. munotes.in
Page 50
50 Political Values and Ideologies
50 4.3 FEMINISM Unit Structure 4.3.1 Objectives 4.3.2 Introduction 4.3.3 Origin of Feminism 4.3.4 Types of Feminism 4.3.5 Waves of Feminism 4.3.6 Conclusion 4.3.7 Questions 4.3.1 OBJECTIVES: Feminism has been one of the major theoretical schools that that represents a body of knowledge that allows us to break the cycle of ignorance. Gender research is vital because sex, love, care and reproduction are basic dimensions in life, and yet, the meaning of gender is contested. 4.3.2 INTRODUCTION Feminism is concerned with the status and role of women in a society with respect to men. It cites that woman have suffered in history and are still suffering injustice. It is because of their sex, which has made a stereotype of being weak and made them vulnerable to exploitation. In short, it is the voice of protest for the rights of women and against their exploitation due to patriarchal mindset. It believes in the political, social, economic and cultural equality of women. 4.3.3 ORIGIN OF FEMINISM: Plato, in his classic Republic, advocated that woman possesses natural capacities equal to men for governing and defending Greece. In “The Book of the City of Ladies”, Christine de Pizan protested against misogyny and role of women in Middle Ages (15th Century). Early feminism emerged in the wake of Enlightenment, which sought to address the ‘rights of man’ which also included the equal rights of women. In this period of enlightenment Mary Wollstonecraft and Harriet Taylor made fervent appeal for equal rights of women. Later, John Stuart Mill in his essay on “The Subjection of Women” argued that women are no less than men and therefore deserve equal rights with men. Simone De Beauvoir was the first woman to write about the defence of the sex in 15th century. The history of feminism is divided into three different waves. But before looking at the waves of feminism we must be clear with the stereotypes about the women with respect to sex and gender. There is difference between sex and gender. Sex is the biological factor which makes a munotes.in
Page 51
51
Feminism woman different from man. It is mostly related to the primary function reproduction and secondary characteristics of body hair and breast development. But gender is the cultural factor which prejudices about the women and considers them as weaker sex. In a society nature of work is decided by the prejudices of gender, and it is decided by the society. It generally places women as second gender or lower status. It divides the nature of men and women and expects women to follow it. For instance, men have aggressiveness, logical outlook, control of emotional expression and attitude of dominance. On the other hand, women are associated with peacefulness, intuitiveness, emotional expressiveness and submissiveness. These are the stereotypes abut women against which the feminists fight for. Now let’s look at the waves of feminism, how it evolved? 4.3.4 TYPES OF FEMINISM: There are three main types of feminism which is mostly prevalent in societies i.e. Liberal Feminism, Radical Feminism and Socialist Feminism. A. Liberal Feminism: It proposes that there should be equality in liberal institutions between men and women. Mary Wollstonecraft, the early exponent of Liberal Feminism said that there should be equality in foundational liberal institutions of democracy. John Stuart Mill, another exponent of Liberal feminism said that women are no less inferior to men and they must be given full freedom in legal and political sphere. He said that society will lose a lot if it will not use the qualities of both men and women. He advocated the reform of property right for women after marriage. Among the contemporaries, Betty Friedan, American activist and writer in her famous work THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE argued that women must be given equality in private life as well as politics. She asserts that the liberal creed of autonomy and self-determination should be given to both men as well as women. She advocated widespread use of crèche so that they can manage both their professional and personal life. Another important exponent is Carole Pateman. She synthesised the conceptual problems in liberal democratic theory with the theory of patriarchal basis of sexual politics. She attacked that in Social Contract theory avoided the patriarchal nature of the society. In a nutshell, Liberal Feminism accepts the liberal assumptions about individuals and freedom, but campaigns equality for both men and women. B. Radical Feminism: It focuses on all-pervading male domination in society and calls for over-tuning of gender oppression. Its early hints are found in early twentieth century in writings of Virginia Woolf, English novelist and essayist. Woolf said how men dominate women psychologically and socially. She said women are victim of themselves as well as of men. Simone de Beauvoir in her “The Second Sex” asserted that munotes.in
Page 52
52 Political Values and Ideologies
52 women are treated as “other” with respect to men. She said “A women is not born but made.” It is because of their upbringing which makes them women. She said that women should transform their lifestyle and change their status across all social and cultural reference points. Another prominent exponent of Radical Feminism is Shulamith Firestone, in her work “The Dialectic of Sex”, argued that women subordination cannot be understood as a symptom of some deeper aspect like racism or class-based division. Subordination of women have been done since historical times and it cannot be eliminated by eliminating some other prejudices or abolition of class society. Firestone claimed that the basis of women subordination is biological. In other words, human reproductive system is responsible for considering women as a weaker sex. It is required that a child should depend on lactating mother and the woman should be dependent on man. This makes women weaker than men. Material development of contraception and test tube babies made women free from this tyranny of their reproductive biology and the chid bearing and child rearing responsibility on society as a whole, men as well as women. Kate Millet, in “Sexual Politics” argued that the relationship between the two sexes was based on power. Based on Max Weber’s theory of domination, she said that men dominate over women on the basis of economic forces and social authority. C. Socialist Feminism: Socialist feminism considers society as a division into two sections: a capitalist society of men and women in which men dominate and second a capitalist society of capitalists and workers in which capitalists dominate. Here, the capitalists and men get benefitted and subordinate women. Therefore, it proposes the establishment of socialistic society. Charles Fourier, French social critic and socialist philosopher argued that there must be a socialistic society in which there would be equality between men and women. He envisaged a form of social organisation in which men and women can enter into group marriages and live in small communities where all will be treated equally. Their children will be brought up together without discrimination. Fredrich Engels, co-founder of Marxism provided a classic account of the origin of gender inequality. He said that the origin of gender inequality can be traced from the patrilineal descent where the property transfers from father to son and then to their grandson, etc. It arose from the rise of private property He said the socialism will socialism will eliminate this inequality. Sheila Rowbatham said that there is historical evidence that class exploitation and women’s oppression are closely linked phenomena and both can be eliminated from socialism. munotes.in
Page 53
53
Feminism 4.3.5 WAVES OF FEMINISM: A. First wave of Feminism: First wave of feminism was between late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries in United Kingdom and United States. In this wave of feminism, its exponents argued that that men and women are equal with regards to their intellectual and emotional capacities, therefore, the right enjoyed by the men should be shared by women too. They focussed on the promotion of equal contract and property rights for women. They opposed to chattel marriage and ownership of married women and their children by their husbands. By the end of 19th century they focussed on political rights and demanded women’s suffrage i.e. Right to Vote. Feminists such as Voltairine de Cleyre and Margaret Sanger were active in campaigning for women’s sexual, reproductive and economic rights. It was in 1918 in Britain, when The Representation of People Act was passed granting the right to vote for women above the age of 30 years who owned houses. In 1928 it was extended to all women beyond the age of twenty-one. In America women leaders like Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony participated against slavery of women. Matilda Joslyn Gage and others were more radical for women’s right to vote. American First Wave of Feminism was ended by the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment granting the right to vote for all women. B. Second Wave of Feminism: It refers to the resurgence of activist feminism in late twentieth century, between 1960s and 1970s. Its exponents were against the women sexual violence. They rejected the practice of women submissiveness, and participation of women in beauty practices. The scholar Estelle Freedman compared first wave with second wave of feminism and said that first wave was more related to right to vote but second wave was related to other rights for equality. The feminist activist and author Carol Hanisch coined the slogan "The Personal is Political" which was most prevalently used in Second wave of Feminism. Simone de Beauvoir wrote “The Second Sex” which was mostly related to the prejudices made regarding women and how she is considered as lower by referring second sex. She told that women are always treated as Other. Her famous quote is “One is not born a woman, but becomes one.” Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963) criticised that women must find their fulfilment in childrearing and homemaking. Friedan said that cultural restriction by society that a woman must find her happiness in childrearing and homemaking has made the woman vulnerable to live. Women’s Liberation movement was started in USA during this movement. munotes.in
Page 54
54 Political Values and Ideologies
54 C. Third Wave of Feminism: It began in early 1990s, as a response to the failure of second wave of Feminism. As in this it was thought that Second wave of Feminism was only for white women, college-educated women and failed to cover the issue of colour, lesbian, immigrants and religious minorities. Feminist leaders rooted in the second wave like Gloria Anzaldua, bell hooks, Chela Sandoval, Cherrie Moraga, Audre Lorde, Maxine Hong Kingston, and many other black feminists sought to space within feminist thought for racial discrimination. Thus, these were the three waves of feminism which fought for the rights of the women. 4.3.6 CONCLUSION Thus, these are the types of feminism. In a nutshell Feminism wants justice for overall development of women as well as society. Feminism offers very systematic interpretation of sex and gender in every form of societies. It produces notions, methodologies, and theories that helps to understand how gender categories are entangled in other categories and practices. UNIT END QUESTION: 1 What are the basic tenets of Marxism? 2 Elaborate on the Critical Appraisals of Marxism. 3 Write a note on characteristics of Fascism. 4 How Feminism was originated? 5 Write a note on three waves of Feminism. munotes.in