Political Ideologies — Important Questions

Positive or Modern Liberalism

The idea of the 'Welfare State' is associated with Positive or Modern Liberalism. Modern liberals believe the state should actively work to remove social evils like poverty, unemployment, disease, and ignorance. They support more state interference in the economy in the interest of the public. A key example is Britain's welfare state established after the Beveridge Report (1943). Classical liberals, on the other hand, preferred a 'Police State' with minimal government intervention.

Marxism

Marxism is the ideological foundation of Communism. The doctrine of communism emerged from the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1847-48. Marxism provides the theoretical base, while its practical application (especially in Russia under Lenin) is called Leninism. Liberalism is a separate ideology focused on individual freedom. Fascism is an extreme right-wing ideology. Anarchism opposes all forms of government authority.

Bourgeoisie and Proletariat

According to Karl Marx's Theory of Class Struggle, society is divided into two main competing classes — the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The Bourgeoisie are the owners of the means of production (factories, land, capital) who employ wage labour. The Proletariat are the working class who sell their labour to survive. Marx argued that the Bourgeoisie exploit the Proletariat by taking the surplus value created by their labour, which creates an inevitable conflict between these two classes.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1847-48. This document is considered the 'Bible of the Marxists' and is the foundational text of communist ideology. It laid out the theory of class struggle and called for the workers of the world to unite against the capitalist class. Lenin later applied these ideas to the conditions of Russia, creating the practical form of communism known as Leninism.