Handbook

Politics may appear to be simply a struggle between different interests for 'who gets what', but ideas are important. During the twentieth century millions of people supported, and died in the name of, fascism and communism. Such ideologies may be finished and everybody may nowadays be a democrat, yet people differ over what is just and free. Ideas ground political institutions; they guide policies; and they shape political struggles. This course investigates the foundational ideologies of modern politics - liberalism, conservatism and socialism - and explores the ideologies that contend with democratic systems, including feminism, multiculturalism and environmentalism.