Major Political Isms
Fall, 2012 ~ Instructor: Jim Bolner, Sr.
We will examine major political “isms”
(such as individualism, collectivism, socialism, fascism,
capitalism, and
communism) from the perspective of political and legal philosophy. Our focus
will be on the quality of these systems of belief and ideologies and their impact
on our political
institutions and practices.
Outline
I. Defining the major political
isms and ideologies
Terminology: isms, ideologies, regimes, judgments
How do we know what we know?
Ideas and wisdom distinguished
Belief, faith, reason, and self-interest
2. The role of political isms in our lives
Our nature and our world view
Desire, passion, and reason
The search for "right order"
3. Individualism
Individualism analyzed
Individualism in American politics
Individualism and capitalism
Pros and Cons of Individualism
4. Collectivism
What is collectivism
Collectivism in American politics
Collectivism and socialism
The continuum of collectivism
5. The intersection of politics and economics
Property and liberty
The inevitability of the mixture of politics and economics
Economic power and political power
6. The future of isms in the United States
The Madisonian-Jeffersonian ideal
Challenges to the Madisonian-Jeffersonian ideal
What lies ahead
Online Resources
American Ideologies - From
sparknotes.com, An Online Study Guide
http://www.ismbook.
- The Isms Book - List of
Isms
Political Ideologies in the United States [Wikipedia]
http://www.otweb.com/blog/index.php?p=32&more=1#terms - Political Isms - Quick Reference
http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm - Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism
http://www.econlib.org/index.html
- A Liberty Foundation Website
http://www.carroll.edu/msmillie/perspectives/caveallegory.htm
- Plato's Allegory of the Cave
Plato,
"The Allegory
of the Cave" The Republic, Book VII
http://www.constitution.org/ari/polit_02.htm
- Aristotle's Politics, Book II; A Briefer Excerpt:
Aristotle, Politics, Book 2
Seat Belt Letter to the Editor - July 10, 2012
Health Care Letter to the
Editor - July 10, 2012
Elections
Meter - Capitalism versus Socialism
Monthly Review - A Socialist Magazine
"Ayn
Rand in a Nutshell" -
The Ayn Rand
Institute
George Will - Progressivism and Football - September 7, 2012
PDF Word
The Declaration of Independence (1776)
The Communist Manifesto (1848)
Herbert Spencer on "The Survival of the Fittest" (1884)
David Brooks, "The Conservative Mind,"
The New
York Times, September 25, 2012
Michael Walzer, "Which Socialism?"
(1210) Michael Walzer, "Which Socialism,"
Dissent
(2010).
Salman Khan,
"Communism" - From the
Khan Academy
Salman Khan,
"20th Century Capitalism and Regulation in the United States" - From the
Khan Academy
Salman Khan,
"When Capitalism Is Great and Not-So Great" - From the Khan Academy
Text of First
Presidential Debate - October 3, 2012
Salman Kahn on Education - The Diane Rehm Show - October 3, 2012
First Presidential Debate Fact Check - From The New York Times
Budget Exercise - From
public-consultation.org
Economic Rationale for State
Intervention in the Economy
Federal Budget 2015 Exercise
Public Debt and Budget Deficit - from the Khan Acacemy
John Stuart Mill,
On Liberty
(Chapter IV)
Text of
Vice-Presidential Debate - October 11, 2012
Video of Presidential Town Hall Event - October 16, 2012 [PBS]
Transcript and Audio of Second "Presidential Debate" - NPR - October 16, 2012
Who Pays Taxes?
- Center for Budget and Policy Priorities - September 17, 2012
Bill Moyers and Company - Matt Taibbi and Chrystia Freeland on the One Percent's
Power and Privileges - PBS - October 21, 2012
Video of
the Third Presidential Debate - October 22, 2012 - And
All Other Debates of 2012
Transcript and Audio of the Third Presidential Debate - October 22, 2012
Socialists in the Early Twentieth Century: A Study
of Rustic Radicalism (The Journal of Southern History (1954)
__________
Class Four Outline - PDF
____________
Materials Below Suggested by Nancy Sidener
Citizens for Tax Justice:
Income distribution:
US Census Bureau,
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/inequality/index.html
Planet Money:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/10/18/163106924/a-tax-plan-that-economists-love-and-politicians-hate
Planet Money on top 1 percent income:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/10/26/141716961/why-has-income-gone-up-so-much-for-top-earners
Bowles-Simpson:
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/
Report: