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Assignment: Write an essay on an example backed up by a source of (potential) totalitarianism or propaganda using the theory of Hannah Arendt or of Gentile to justify why this is a good example (see slides class 5). Use and cite at least one source that is from 2022 or 2023.Essay should be minimum 500 words and maximum 800 words
You can choose an example from any country in the world as long as it is backed up by a source. The source can be in any language, it does not have to be in Englishe.g., you can give the example of misinformation regarding Covid-19 and support it with a source in Chinese.
– The example must relate to totalitarianism. It does not have to be full totalitarianism, just a potential sign of it is enough. It can also relate to propaganda or to a state/media pushing anti-truth.
– Use theory of Hannah Arendt or of Gentile’s chapter to justify why this is a suitable example
– The event can be from before 2022 but one of the sources must be a news article or data from 2022 or 2023e.g., you can give an example regarding Covid-19 which started in 2020, but the source you give as the example must be from 2022 or 2023. A newspaper or other article that releases new data or other source is sufficient.Another example: if you want to write about the comfort women issue, you can use the recent diplomatic news articles regarding president Yoon and PM Kishida.
– Please cite your source(s) using APA citation style at the bottom of the essay as a Reference.
Introduction to Political Science
–
020022EA
F105
Class 5
Political Ideologies III
Feminism, Environmentalism,
Communism, Fascism
2023/4/14
Anke Kennis © All Rights Reserved
1
Todayʼs agenda
2023/4/18
1
Feminism
2
Environmentalism
3
Totalitarianism
4
Fascism
5
Communism
Anke Kennis © All Rights Reserved
2
Political Ideologies
v We will now look at different political ideologies from Ancient Greece through
modern times
v Important to place these ideologies in their correct historical context or
Zeitgeist
v As we will see, terrible crimes against humanity happened in the name of
some of these ideologies
v Danger of putting some of these ideologies or political thinkers on a pedestal
and taking it as a religion
v Still some of these form the foundations of our political systems today
‘Standing on the shoulders of giants’
v The extreme form of any ideology is almost always detrimental, dangerous
v None of these political thinkers that we will meet, were saints. However, that
does not mean that there is no longer value in most or some of their
intellectual legacy.
v For those ideologies that have been proven downward catastrophical and
genocidal, we can only hope to understand how they come to be and try to
avoid repetition
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1. Feminism
Introduction (Grigsby Chapter 7)
v Feminism= opposes the political, economic, and cultural relegation of women
to positions of inferiority. That is, feminism critiques laws, customs, and beliefs
that posit that women are inferior to men, contribute to discrimination against
women, privilege men over women, and/or value men’s freedom and wellbeing over those of women. Feminism critiques historical, contemporary,
national, and cross-cultural practices that deny women power over their own
lives and thereby attempt to take away from women the possibility of living as
free, self-governing individuals. (see Grigsby, chapter 7)
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/feminism-womens-history
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1. Feminism
Similarities to Liberalism and Democratic theory (Grigsby Chapter 7)
v Feminism is philosophically similar to liberalism in that both ideologies reject as
illegitimate and unethical the notion that one person or group has a natural claim to
dominate or to exercise arbitrary power over another. ironies of history that the very
classical liberals (such as John Locke) making these arguments about natural freedom
and natural equality excluded women from their claims; that is, Locke could
simultaneously proclaim the existence of natural equality of all (men) and assert the
existence of natural inequality or differences relative to women and men.
v Feminism shares with democratic theory a belief that all people should be
empowered to participate in collective decision making, as well as the viewpoint that
when people are denied this power, the agency doing the denying is oppressive. As
analyst Rosemarie Tong explains, although feminism is a diverse and divided ideology,
all feminists share the view that women should be as free as men
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1. Feminism
The Patriarchy (Grigsby Chapter 7)
v According to most feminists, patriarchy is a term that has been used over the
decades to describe the rule of men as a social group over women as a social
group. A patriarchal system is a system based on a sexual hierarchy, whereby
men exist in positions of superiority and women are accorded positions of
subordination and dependency.
v According to many feminists, patriarchy has existed across various
cultures and time periods. Although not every man has dominated women
or even exercised power over women, men, as a group, have had the
preponderance of power within society and have used this power to further
their own interests at the expense of women, according to feminist
perspectives.
v Examples: European Parliament report (2012) noted that 70 percent of the
world’s poor are women. Women do approximately two-thirds of the unpaid
labour carried out daily across the globe. Women’s wages account for percent
of income earned worldwide. Women hold only 15 percent of the leadership
positions in public and private firms.
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1. Feminism
Arguments (Grigsby Chapter 7)
v Cultural restrictions on women’s movement, women’s responsibilities to care
for children and elders, and limited access to information have inhibited
women’s ability to adapt to environmental crises.
v According to feminism, empirical facts such as these clearly demonstrate the
existence of a sexual hierarchy, and feminists further contend that this
hierarchy, or patriarchy, has been held up as legitimate and justifiable by the
teachings of numerous religions, intellectual traditions, and cultural
authorities.
v Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.) ‘women and men were fundamentally different and
that woman’s highest function was having children, whereas man’s highest
purpose was intellectual creativity.’
v Rousseau (1712–1778) continued the Aristotelian practice of using
philosophy to legitimize patriarchy. argued against tyranny and oppressive
governments and pro individual liberty for men. woman’s duty was to please
her husband, and this was best accomplished by submitting to his will.
Domination of men (by governments) was awful, according to Rousseau, but
domination of women (by men) was natural and desirable.
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1. Feminism
Introduction (Grigsby Chapter 7)
Female genital mutilation =
female (usually a young girl) has her clitoris (and, in some
cases, surrounding tissue) removed, and her capacity for
sexual pleasure is greatly diminished by this procedure.
thought to increase male sexual pleasure during intercourse.
Roughly 1 in 500 girls die because of the procedure. Also
problems during birth, increase in HIV infection
U.S. feminists have supported efforts to end FGM, but a
number of African women have called on U.S. feminists to be
reflective and cautious before rushing to condemn African
culture. Indeed, U.S. readers might reflect on cultural practices
in their own country involving altering the female body in order
to stimulate male interest and desire (e.g., plastic surgery,
electrolysis, excessive dieting, liposuction, and breast implants)
à but that’s What-aboutism and
1. these are done by adult consenting women.
2. medically overseen procedures that do not inhibit sexual and
reproductive health.
See Assita Kanko’s EU Parliament page https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/197469/ASSITA_KANKO/home
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1. Feminism
Liberal feminism – Mary Wollstonecraft (Grigsby Chapter 7)
v Liberal feminists roots English philosopher Mary
Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
v book ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’
(1792).
v Stated that women are not naturally inferior to men,
but rather their perceived inferiority is a result of
limited educational opportunities and societal
constraints.
v Advocated for women’s right to education and the
development of their rational faculties
v Wollstonecraft argued that reason is a human trait,
not just a male one.
v English women were denied the right to hold office,
to exercise custody over their children, to control
property, and, in most cases, to divorce their
husbands.
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Feminism
Liberal Feminism – Mary Wollstonecraft
v “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: argued for women’s right to
participate in public life, including politics and governance, and for the
abolition of practices such as coverture, which denied women their legal
rights upon marriage.
v Despite criticism and controversy her ideas have lasting impact continue
to inspire discussions on gender equality and women’s rights today.
v considered a cornerstone of feminist philosophy and her contributions to
the advancement of women’s rights are widely recognized.
v Wollstonecraft’s attacked the logic of the patriarchy by drawing on
classical liberal ideology such as John Locke insisting that individuals had
a natural right to be free and self-governing because naturally rational.
v Problem with Lockean liberal ideas à not made applicable to women.
That which was construed as “human nature” (rationality) was really
interpreted as male nature by writers (including Locke himself),
proclaimed humans to be rational and women to be emotional,
intellectually weak, and irrational. She wanted women included within the
concept of “human nature”: She wanted women, no less than men, to be
regarded as rational beings capable of self-determination and liberty.
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1. Feminism
Other notable feminist figures
•
•
•
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986): A French existentialist philosopher, writer, and
feminist, de Beauvoir is known for her influential work “The Second Sex” (1949), which
examined the social and cultural construction of gender and challenged traditional notions
of femininity and women’s roles in society.
Gloria Steinem (b. 1934): An American feminist, journalist, and social political activist,
Steinem has been a prominent figure in the feminist movement since the 1960s. She cofounded Ms. magazine, a feminist publication, and has been a vocal advocate for
reproductive rights, gender equality, and social justice.
Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997): A Pakistani activist for girls’ education and women’s rights,
Malala gained international recognition for her advocacy at a young age. She survived an
assassination attempt by the Taliban for her activism and has since become a global
symbol of the fight for girls’ education and gender equality.
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1. Feminism – criticism
https://www.theguardian.com/
education/datablog/2013/jan/2
9/how-many-men-andwomen-are-studying-at-myuniversity
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1. Feminism – criticism
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-11/fresh-wave-of-poison-gas-attacks-reported-at-iran-girls-schools?leadSource=uverify%20wall
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2. Environmentalism
v Environmentalism= ideology asserts the
importance of viewing natural resources from an
ecological perspective.
v The study of ecology is the study of
interdependence, i.e. of the connections between
organisms and the life-sustaining materials (such as
soil, water, and air) and processes (such as
photosynthesis) that comprise ecosystems.
v Climate refugees: not due to war, but due to
flooding, forest fires etc. (report UN High
Commissioner for Refugees, 2012)
v According to some research women and men are
affected in different ways due to climate change.
There were more female victims than men during
the Nepali floodings in 1993 and in the Bangladeshi
cyclone of 1991.
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https://www.gettyimages.ie/detail/news-photo/floodsand-landslides-in-nepal-on-july-7th-1993-newsphoto/113422283
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2. Environmentalism
History
v From 1600s, English observers already documenting industrial pollution’s harm
to plant and human populations à proposed the construction of higher
chimneys to try to distribute toxins away from the immediate vicinity of people
and plants.
v By the 1800s, English scientists discovered acid rain. Also, French, Swedish,
and U.S. scientists put together sufficient data to realize that increased levels of
atmospheric carbon dioxide had the potential to alter climate patterns and
eventually produce global warming
v groups such as the French National Society for the Protection of Nature (est.
1854) and the British Society for the Preservation of Wild Fauna of the Empire
(est. 1903) creating land reserves to be set aside and protected in near-pristine
conditions so that hunters and adventurers could escape to unpolluted
wilderness areas
v complex set of arguments, and as the ideology has developed, tensions and
disagreements among its advocates have contributed to the ideology’s
complexity. However, although individual environmentalists may offer divergent
perspectives on an array of specific topics, environmentalism, like other
ideologies, is held together by wide- spread agreement on key questions
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2. Environmentalism
Key elements
v humans have a responsibility to use natural resources in a manner that is
supportive of ecosystem integrity. Ecosystem integrity (viability and health): certain
resources protected from depletion; that land or water be conserved; and that
development projects involving roads, dams, and buildings be curtailed.
v U.S. environmentalist Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) ecological stewardship. Humans
have a responsibility to act as ecological stewards, or caretakers, of the Earth; one
who nourishes and protects what is left in his or her care.
v Sustainable development designed to use natural resources in a manner that
neither depletes nor destroys elements of the ecosystem. Oriented toward ensuring
that a developed area within an ecosystem does not diminish the ecosystem’s
viability. à counter problem of pesticide-resistant crops
v In 2009, the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to
address environmental concerns resulting from global climate change. The warmest
2 years on record were 1998 and 2005. Increases in temperatures are associated, at
least in part, with the production of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. These four particular greenhouse
gases are, in turn, associated with human activities such as the burning of fossil
fuels, coal and natural gas production, agricultural production, and industrial
processes.
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3. Totalitarianism – key terms
(see Gentile, 2013)
v Totalitarianism = Holistic ideology of a revolutionary party that considers itself
to be the unique and exclusive vanguard of its own reference group – the
proletariat, the nation, the racial entity and as such demands for itself a
monopoly of power in order to establish a new order, modelled on its won
conception of man and politics. Organisational ideology, call to action
v Holistic
ancient slavery >feudal serfdom (form of
slavery) > bourgeois or capitalist exploiting
workers > communism
v 1848 pamphlet The Communist
Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels
v was an inevitable consequence of modern
history and industrialisation. To Marx the
conflicts of modern capitalist society
dominated by a ruling bourgeoisie were the
cause of the uprising of the proletariat which
would become the new ruling class globally
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto
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5. Communism – Marx and Engels
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto#/media/File:Communist-manifesto.png
v Communist Manifesto first published in German in
1848
v Sets out principles of communist revolution to
overthrow capitalism
v ‘The history of all hitherto existing society is the history
of class struggles”
v “forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions”
v Capitalism is a system in which the means of
production are privately owned and operated for profit
This creates an unequal distribution of wealth and
power Workers are exploited and alienated from the
products of their labour
v In a communist society, the means of production are
owned collectively by the workers There is no private
property or class distinctions Goods and services are
distributed according to need
v dehumanizing effects of the capitalist system on
workers and society as a whole
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5. Communism – Marx and Engels
See Brown (2013)
v Communist Manifesto though co-authored,
Engels admitted that the main ideas came
from Marx
v Engels own account of working-class life in
Britain in the 1840s was based on his own
observation of factory life in Manchester
v Industrial Revolution brought with it enormous
wealth creation, but also much social
inequality
v People moving from rural villages to cities for
work
v Child labour in mines and cotton mills
v No safety and health regulations
à ‘fluff on the lungs’, mining accidents
v Marx and Engels reacting against this injustice
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5. Communism
• Directly opposed against religion à Marx ‘religion is opium for the
people.’ à religion was used by those in power to keep down the
workers and it was used by the workers as self-justification why they
were in that situation
• Communism put forth scientific assumptions however in the end the
figure of Lenin became sacralised, the cult of Lenin had his body
embalmed and there are pilgrimages to his mausoleum on the Red
Square. The same happened with Stalin à idolatry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinism
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5. Communism – Bolshevism
• Bolshevism (Russian
word bolshinstvo, meaning majority)
referred back to Marxism explicitly,
and considered itself the most pure
form of it.
• Bolshevism was original in that it
was lead by a revolutionary party
created by Lenin with a strongly
centralised organisation, disciplined
by professional revolutionaries who
saw themselves as the conscious
leaders of the proletarian masses
(Gentile, 2014)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-Lenin
• Takeover of power in 1917, Bolshevik party dictatorship, which Lenin called the
dictatorship of the proletariat, which laid the foundations of the Soviet one-party
regime.
• After Lenin’s death, Stalin became the supreme leader, putting his own touches
on Marxism-Leninism which is referred to as ‘Stalinism’.
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5. Communism – China
See Brown (2013)
• Communism in China evolved differently, at first in many
forms: Mao: ‘let a hundred flowers bloom in culture’ and ‘let a
hundred schools of thought contend’
• Which soon turned into ‘dig out the poisonous weed’ after the
1956-1957 ‘Hundred Flowers Movement’ was critical of Mao
and his party’s unchecked power
• ‘Great Leap Forward’ in 1958 = ‘most disastrous ideological
and political innovation’ with aim to get every locality to make
‘backyard furnaces’ to complement the large-scale industries
already in the cities
• The people’s communes created economic turmoil, which
coupled with floods and droughts over the years caused a
famine which killed approx. 45 million people
• Cultural Revolution: anti-intellectual movement causing
damage to education. Millions of teachers had to flee, were
tortured and universities shut down
• Students had to join the Red Guards in the revolutionary
process
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5. Communism
How Queen Victoria indirectly caused the October Revolution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin
2023/4/19
https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/romanov-family
Anke Kennis © All Rights Reserved
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Summary
• Fascism
• Communism
– Mussolini and Hitler
– Based on national and
racial superiority
– Extreme authoritarianism
– Eradication of the racially
or socially unwanted
– Holocaust and
concentration camps
– Still illegal to deny the
Holocaust or show Nazi
symbols in certain
countries
2023/4/14
– Marx and Engels, Lenin,
Stalin, Mao
– Eradication of class system
and common goods
– Gulags
– After China and Soviet
Union Communism ʻdied as
a serious ideological and
political forceʼ (Brown,
2013)
– Never been successful but
catastrophical each time
tried
Anke Kennis © All Rights Reserved
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Further readings on the horrors of Totalitarianism
Testimony of a Jewish
psychologist who survives the
Holocaust
2023/4/18
Auto bibliography of how he
survived 8 years in a gulag
and what he saw
Anke Kennis © All Rights Reserved
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Both Fascism and Communism
References
Mandatory readings:
• Gentile, E. (2013), ‘Total and totalitarian ideologies’, in Freeden, M., Sargent, L.T.,
Stears, M., The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press,
Oxford.
• Brown, A.(2013), ‘Communism’, in Freeden, M., Sargent, L.T., Stears, M., The Oxford
Handbook of Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Grigsby, E. (2014), Chapter 7
Optional readings:
•
•
•
UNHCR, “Climate Change Drives People into Harm’s Way, Says UN Refugee Chief,”
Press Release (June 12, 2012), http://www.unhcr.org/4fe3129d6.html; World Health
Organization, Gender, Climate Change and Health, n.d.,
http://www.who.int/globalchange/GenderClimateChangeHealthfinal.pdf/.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6079349/
https://www.unfpa.org/resources/female-genital-mutilation-fgm-frequently-askedquestions
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Anke Kennis © All Rights Reserved
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