Summary and Glossary in Political Ideologies II

Summary

Anarchism as an ideology seeks to abolish all authority and emancipate man from state, property and religion. It calls for the immediate destruction of the state describing it as unnecessary evil. It alternatively visualizes a society based on voluntary association of human beings.

Feminism fights for the emancipation of women from patriarchy. Liberal Feminism, Radical Feminism, Marxist Feminism, Radical Feminism, Eco Feminism and Post-Colonial Feminism strive for emancipation of women in their unique ways fighting against patriarchy, private property and authority.

Communitarianism articulates the centrality of community in the life of individuals. It rejects the argument that individual is an atomistic being and on the contrary considers them as embedded or situated in the community. It believes in a state that seeks to promote common good and positive rights.

Postmodernism rose as a reaction against modernity and rejects universalism and reductionism. It contends that reality is based on interpretation and therefore is not singular but plural. Contrary to modernity that devotes attention to systemic change; Postmodernism focuses on emancipating or changing the condition of specific social groups and supports identity politics.

Environmentalism seeks to preserve and conserve the nature. Philosophically there are two forms namely Shallow Ecology and Deep Ecology. Shallow Ecology believes in the principle of Anthropocentrism and provides the position of centrality to the human beings in this world. Deep Ecology in contrast articulates the principle of Bio Centric Equality where all biological forms including the human beings are equal and calls for ecological conservation. The political theory has three major schools of Modernist Ecology, Social ecology and Deep Ecology. They attempt to promote their own perspectives towards environment-development debate.

Glossary

Anarchism : A system in which no authority exists and cooperation among members is the basis of its functioning

Feminism : The ideology that seeks women empowerment and gender equality

Patriarchy : The system in which male domination over women exists in family, politics, economy, culture, religion etc.

Post-Colonialism : The condition of countries in their independence period after the end of colonialism (For example, India after 1947)

Colonialism : The process in which the countries of Asia and Africa were enslaved and exploited by European countries

Vishakha Guidelines : The guidelines contained in the judgement of the Supreme Court to protect women from sexual harassment in working places

Gender Equality : Equality between man and woman

Common Good : The common welfare or interest of the community

Not Unencumbered Self : Human being is not a completely free person as he lives along with others in the community

Situated Self : Human being is rooted in the community

Reductionism : The approach to reduce the world to one particular factor while interpreting it

Universalism : The belief that one factor or idea is universally valid.

Particularism : The approach that every entity has its own particular identity or validity. Every region, community, culture is special or unique

Deconstruction : Understanding the hidden and inner meanings while reading or interpreting something without accepting the apparent meaning

Identity Politics : The political mobilization of the usually less privileged around their language, race, gender, caste etc. for achieving justice, equality and development

Anthropocentrism : The attitude that places the human as the superior life form and other biological forms as inferior ones existing for the pleasure and life of Human Beings

Biocentric Equality : All biological life forms are equal and human beings are not superior to other animals and plants in this planet

Inter Generational Justice : The present generation must hand over this planet to future generations without greedily destroying the environment

Sustainable Development : We should consume natural resources carefully keeping in mind the needs of future generations.

Deep Ecology : We should understand deeply the negative impact of activities of the human beings on environment and the urgent need to preserve the ecology of the world

Chipko Movement : In Hindi it means Hug. The people hugged the trees to protect them from being cut

Appiko Movement : In Kannada language Appiko means Hug. The people hugged the trees in Karnataka to save them from being cut