2013

1. Welcome to Social Studies 11!
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Be prepared!
Come to class on time!
Bring your Cornell Note taking paper!
Bring your burning need to learn!
Bring your smiles and laughter!
Leave your unhappiness behind
We are about to go on a learning adventure
together!

2. The Political Spectrum

3. The Political Spectrum
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Communism
Socialism
Reform Liberalism
Classical Liberalism
Conservatism
Fascism

5. What is politics?
• What comes to mind when you think of
Political systems?
Hitler
Mussolini
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6. Democracy
• Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible
citizens participate equally—either directly or through
elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and
creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural
conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political
self-determination.
• Direct Democracy: Each citizen votes on the issue in question
• Representative Democracy: Citizens elect a representative
from a pool of candidates (generally representative of a
political ideology) to represent their interests to government

7. Monarchy
• A monarchy (or kingdom, when ruled by a King or Queen) is a
form of government in which sovereignty is actually or
nominally embodied in a single individual
• Forms of monarchy differ widely based on the level of legal
autonomy the monarch holds, the method of selection of the
monarch, and any predetermined limits on the length of their
term in office.
• When the monarch has no or few legal restraints in state and
political matters, it is called an absolute monarchy and is a
form of autocracy. Cases in which the monarch's discretion is
formally limited (most common today) are called
constitutional monarchies.
• Canada’s government is a Constitutional Monarchy

8. Totalitarian and Autocracies
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Totalitarianism or totalitarian state is a term used to describe a political system in
which the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all
aspects of public and private life wherever possible.
The concept of totalitarianism was first developed in a positive sense in the 1920s
by the Italian fascists.
The concept became prominent during the Cold War era, in order to highlight
perceived similarities between Nazi Germany and other Fascist states on the one
hand, and Soviet Communist Party states on the other.
Autocracies: An autocratic state is a system of government in which all of the
power is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to
neither external legal restraints or elections (except perhaps for the threat of a
coup d'état or revolution).

9. Federalism and the Federal system
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Canadian federalism is concerned with the nature and historical development of
federal systems within Canada. Canada is a federation with two distinct
jurisdictions of political authority: the country-wide federal government and the
ten provincial governments.
It has three territorial governments in the far north that exercise powers under
the authority of the Parliament of Canada. All three jurisdictions are linked
together by the Canadian Crown, from which all derive their power and authority;
each government includes the Queen-in-Parliament, the Queen-in-Council, and
the Queen-on-the-Bench.
The federal parliament and the provincial assemblies are generally independent of
one another in their respective areas of legislative authority.
Shared sectors include agriculture and immigration, but most are either entirely
within federal jurisdiction, such as foreign affairs and telecommunications, or
entirely within provincial jurisdiction, such as education and healthcare.

10. Conservatism
• Basic Principles:
– Tradition
– Social Stability
– Society as Functional
– Order
– All individuals work for the collective good by
fulfilling their role in their social station in the
social structure.

11. Conservatism (cont’d)
• Historical Origin:
– 18th Century
– Feudal Society
• Role of Government:
– Rules in the interest the social order, the interest of the
wealthy
– Minimal / modest role for government

12. Conservatism (cont’d)
• Individual:
– subservient to the collective good
• Human Nature:
– innate and fixed
– must be regulated

13. Conservatism (cont’d)
• Economic Base:
– Agrarian to Capitalist to . . .
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Economic Freedom: High
Economic Equality: Low
Freedom of Thought and Belief: High
Freedom of Expression: Moderate

14. Conservatism (cont’d)
• Country & Time:
– England and Canada: early to late 19th Century
• Writer / Theorist:
– William Paley
1743-1805

15. Classical Liberalism
• Basic Principles:
– Supremacy of Individual Liberty and Rights
– The greatest good for all results from unrestricted
freedom of the individual
– Individual freedom: political, economic
– Progress is good, and results from individual
freedom of action

16. Classical Liberalism (cont’d)
• Competition and struggle for existence
amongst all is good
• Each person achieves according to their
innate ability
• Meritocracy
• Government impedes individual liberty,
personal, political and economic, to the
detriment of all
• Modelled on a view of nature as competitive,
survival of the fittest

17. Classical Liberalism (cont’d)
• Historical Origin:
– England in the 1830’s
• Role of Government:
– Absolute minimum
– A negative force
– It detracts from the liberty of the individual

18. Classical Liberalism (cont’d)
• Individual
– Should have complete and unrestricted freedom:
political and economic
• Human Nature:
– Inherently acts on self-interest
and selfishness

19. Classical Liberalism (cont’d)
• Economic Base:
– Industrialization to Capitalism to . . .
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Economic Freedom: Very high
Economic Equality: Very Low
Freedom of Thought and Belief: Very High
Freedom of Expression: Very High

20. Classical Liberalism (cont’d)
• Country & Time:
• England and the U.S. in late 19th Century
• Writer / Theorist:
– Adam Smith
– Thomas Huxley
– William Spencer
Thomas Huxley
1825-1895

21. Reform Liberalism
• Basic Principles:
– Individual freedom must be tempered by
collective action for the improvement of individual
and collective welfare
– Progress is good, change is good
– Inequalities of opportunity exist in the social
structure, and government should address this to
provide equality of opportunity for all

22. Reform Liberalism (cont’d)
• Historical Origin:
– England and North America in the late 19th and early 20th
Century
• Role of Government:
– has a positive role in society and the economy
– government intervention to regulate and manage the
economy for the wellbeing of all
– government intervenes to protect minority rights

23. Reform Liberalism (cont’d)
• Individual:
– a primary value
– individual liberty and freedom is important, but
government action is necessary to ensure this for all
• Human Nature:
– basically good
– government creates social conditions that allow
individuals to flourish

24. Reform Liberalism (cont’d)
• Economic Base:
– Industrial to Capitalist to . . .
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Economic Freedom:High
Economic Equality: Moderate
Freedom of Thought and Belief: Very High
Freedom of Expression: High

25. Reform Liberalism (cont’d)
• Country & Time:
– England and Canada in the early 20th Century
• Writer/Theorist: John Maynard Keynes
1883-1946

26. Socialism
• Basic Principles:
– An economic and class understanding of society
– Economic classes have conflicting interests, and
society evolves towards power in the hands of the
working class.
– The collective good takes precedence over selfinterest of individuals
– Humans are fundamentally social beings and their
fulfillment is in social groups

27. Socialism (cont’d)
• Historical Origin:
– England in the 19th Century
• Role of Government:
– The government intervenes to prevent economic
exploitation of workers by capitalists
– The government manages the economy in the interest of
the citizens to ensure the economic wellbeing of all.
– Public or collective ownership over the resources and
infrastructure of the society

28. Socialism (cont’d)
• Individual
– The rights and desires of individuals are
subordinate to the wellbeing and welfare of the
majority
• Human Nature:
– Humans are fundamentally social beings and their
fulfillment is in social groups

29. Socialism (cont’d)
• Economic Base:
– Industrial
– Collective or public ownership of resources and industry
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Economic Freedom: Low
Economic Equality: High
Freedom of Thought and Belief: High
Freedom of Expression: Moderate

30. Socialism (cont’d)
• Country & Time:
– Northern Europe Early 19th Century
• Writer / Theorist: Robert Owen, JeanJacques Rousseau, Henri de Saint-Simon
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1712-1778

31. Communism
• Basic Principles:
– An economic class understanding of society
– A determinist understand of an inevitable historical
evolution to a classless society based on the conflict
between the working class and the capitalist class
– A strong central government is necessary to impose
government control of the resources, industry and
productive base of the society in the interests of all
– Totalitarian

32. Communism (cont’d)
• Historical Origin:
– U.S.S.R.
• Role of Government:
– highly interventionist in the politics and economy
of the country

33. In Soviet Russia…
NOTES TAKE YOU!

34. Communism (cont’d)
• Individual:
– individuals are subordinate to the wellbeing and
interests of all
Stalin 
• Human Nature:
– Humans are fundamentally social beings and their
fulfillment is in social groups

35. Communism (cont’d)
• Economic Base:
– Industrial, sometimes agrarian
– State capitalist?
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Economic Freedom:Very Low
Economic Equality: Very High
Freedom of Thought and Belief: Low
Freedom of Expression: Low

36. Communism (cont’d)
• Country & Time:
– U.S.S.R, 1917 - 1991
– China, post 1949 (Mao Zedong)
• Writer / Theorist:
– Lenin
– Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
– (co-author’s of communist manifesto)
Note: Divergence between Communism as a
philosophy and historical political system

37. Hearing Lenin
Russian Civil War Era Speech
Russian Ideologist and Communist leader Vladimir Lenin
speaking during the Russian Civil War (1918-1922)

38. Fascism
• Basic Principles:
– An ultra-conservative and ultra-nationalist approach to
social structure
– The good social order is achieved by a totalitarian state
that manages society and the economy towards military
and state power
– Complete government and state regulation of individuals’
rights and the economy in the interest of the state
– Glorification of a past ideal time and military power

39. • Adolf Hitler 
http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/Adolf_Hitler_walking_out_of_Brown_House_after_1930_elections.jpg

40. Fascism (cont’d)
• Historical Origin:
– Italy in the 1920’s
– Germany in the 1930’s
• Role of Government:
– The government is the supreme power in society,
and directs the political and economic system in
the interest of the fascist state
http://sharonweinberger.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/mind_control.gif

41. Fascism (cont’d)
• Individual:
– The individual is completely subordinate to the
interests of the state
• Human Nature:
– human fulfillment is found in serving the interests
of the fascist state

42. Fascism (cont’d)
• Economic Base:
– Industrial and capitalist
– Capitalist production is directed by the state for the
interests of the state
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Economic Freedom: Low
Economic Equality: Low
Freedom of Thought and Belief: Low
Freedom of Expression: Very Low

43. Fascism (cont’d)
• Country & Time:
– Italy in the 1920s and 1930s
– Germany in the 1930s
• Writer / Theorist:
Benito Mussolini 

44. Hitler’s Beer hall Speech
Footage taken from a movie depicting Hitler speaking
to a crowded Munich beer hall, typical of his early
methods of spreading his ideals.

46. That’s It !!!