Andrus Video Lecture and Q&A (Political Ideology)
Political Ideology is defined as a cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the role of government. It is essential to understand not only the basic competing ideologies in American political culture, but the nuanced application, interpretation and in fact, perversion of these terms and concepts. It is important to understand these dynamics in order to make sense of the various political behavior that pervades our society. The subject of political ideology is addressed in Chapter #6 later in the semester. However, it has general relevance in all aspects of the study of American and California government and specific and greater relevance in some areas more than others. It also has specific relevance to many of the concepts and themes addressed in Chapter #8. At the heart of competing ideologies is the following question: What is the proper role and size of government? When we talk of the size of government we are talking about the amount and types of laws passed by government; the nature and scope of policies and involvement of government; the level of power of government; the amount of people, funding and overall infrastructure of government. The answer to this over arching question can inform us of where someone stands in their political ideology. Below, you will find a video lecture that has been broken into three parts. The lecture introduces students to political ideology and the political spectrum. Your assignment begins by having you watch that lecture and then answering some related questions. The lecture totals about one hour. The lecture posted below includes closed captioning. Unfortunately, the captioning obscures the term “Republican Party” on the bottom of the chart. FYI. (Because the video lectures are lengthy, this assignment is not due until the end of week #2. All other assignments in this Module are due as otherwise instructed.)Once you have watched the video lectures I want you to answer and submit the following questions (By clicking on the hyperlink above):
- What is the difference between “Classical Liberalism” as a concept and being considered a “Liberal” on the U.S. Political Spectrum?
- Ronald Reagan believed in small government. Based on my lecture, how was his belief somewhat, not entirely, contradictory?
- Based on my lecture, how did the ideologies of President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush differ?
- Based on my lecture, which parts of Communism and Marxism are arguably still relevant today and which part(s) are not?
- What is the proper role of government for the United States?
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