Some Major

Political Ideologies
of the 20th and 21st centuries
(in alphabetical order)
 capitalism

an economic system in which wealth, and the

means of producing wealth, are privately owned
and controlled rather than commonly, publicly,
or state-owned and controlled.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism)
 Image: 'Enjoy Capitalism'
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 communism

a socioeconomic structure and political ideology

that promotes the establishment of an
egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on
common ownership and control of the means of
production and property in general.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism)
 Image: 'les annes sans lumiere'
www.flickr.com/photos/84424657@N00/82159877
 democratism
a philosophy that insists on the right and the capacity of a
people, acting either directly or through representatives, to
control their institutions for their own purposes. Such a
philosophy places a high value on the equality of individuals and
would free people as far as possible from restraints not self-
imposed. It insists that necessary restraints be imposed only by
the consent of the majority and that they conform to the
principle of equality.

(http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0815129.html)
 Image: 'Out to Vote 6/7'
www.flickr.com/photos/69482780@N00/44303266
 despotism

a form of government by a single authority,

either an individual or tightly knit group, which
rules with absolute political power.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despotism)
 Image: 'Napoleon'
www.flickr.com/photos/55228353@N00/2548778539
 fascism
a governmental system led by a dictator having
complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition
and criticism, regimenting all industry,
commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive
nationalism and often racism
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fascism)

Fascist movements promote violent conflict between nations,

political factions, and races as part of a social darwinist view
that conflict between these groups is natural and a part of
evolution.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism)
 In descending
order of size:
Hitler, Stalin,
Castro, Saddam,
Pinochet.

Image: 'Russian Dolls'

www.flickr.com/photos/
95492938@N00/116054798
 fundamentalism

Fundamentalism refers to a belief in, and strict

adherence to a set of basic principles, often
religious in nature.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalism)
 Image: 'untitled'
www.flickr.com/photos/72211182@N00/47573605
 liberalism
a political or social philosophy advocating the freedom of the
individual, parliamentary systems of government, nonviolent
modification of political, social, or economic institutions to
assure unrestricted development in all spheres of human
endeavor, and governmental guarantees of individual rights and
civil liberties.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberalism)

Liberalism emphasizes individual rights and equality of

opportunity.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism)
Image: 'New York's Liberty Island - Statue Of+Liberty+&+Seagull'
www.flickr.com/photos/50965924@N00/2928233768
 marxism
the system of economic and political thought developed
by Karl Marx, along with Friedrich Engels, esp. the
doctrine that the state throughout history has been a
device for the exploitation of the masses by a
dominant class, that class struggle has been the main
agency of historical change, and that the capitalist
system, containing from the first the seeds of its own
decay, will inevitably, after the period of the
dictatorship of the proletariat, be superseded by a
socialist order and a classless society.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/marxism)
 Image: 'Communists'
www.flickr.com/photos/30223854@N00/3205545010
 monarchism
the advocacy of the establishment,
preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a
form of government in a nation. A monarchist
is an individual who supports this form of
government out of principle, independent from
the person, the Monarch.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchism)
http://www.monarchist.org.au/
 nationalism
an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or
a social movement that focuses on the nation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism)

the policy or doctrine of asserting the

interests of one's own nation, viewed as
separate from the interests of other nations or
the common interests of all nations.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nationalism)
Image: 'Chicago's Free Tibet Protest March 18, 2008'
www.flickr.com/photos/92283658@N00/2344212470
 nazism
officially National Socialism, refers to the ideology and
practices of the National Socialist German Workers
Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the
dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to
1945. Nazism is often considered by scholars to be a
form of fascism.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism)

The ideology and practice of the Nazis, especially the

policy of racist nationalism, national expansion, and state
control of the economy.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nazism)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg
 republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as
a republic, with an emphasis on liberty, rule of law,
popular sovereignty and the civic virtue practiced by
citizens. Republicanism always stands in opposition to
any form of dictatorship or tyranny in the political
realm. More broadly, it refers to a political system that
protects liberty, especially by incorporating a rule of
law that cannot be arbitrarily ignored by the
government.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republicanism)
Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
Image: 'Wonsan, North Korea'
www.flickr.com/photos/46274125@N00/2928389130

Peoples Republic of China

? Image: 'Flag'
www.flickr.com/photos/24841463@N00/1951611087
 socialism
refers to a broad set of economic theories of
social organization advocating public or state
ownership and administration of the means of
production and distribution of goods, and a
society characterized by equal opportunities
for all individuals, with a fair or egalitarian
method of compensation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism)
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Soviet_flag_red_star.svg

The Red Star

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Red_star.svg
 totalitarianism
a modern autocratic government in which the state involves itself
in all facets of society, including the daily life of its citizens. A
totalitarian government seeks to control not only all economic and
political matters but the attitudes, values, and beliefs of its
population, erasing the distinction between state and society. The
citizen's duty to the state becomes the primary concern of the
community, and the goal of the state is the replacement of
existing society with a perfect society.

(http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0849133.html)

Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe political systems

whereby a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life.
Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by
means of an official all-embracing ideology and propaganda disseminated through
the state-controlled mass media, a single party that controls the state,
personality cults, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of free
discussion and criticism, the use of mass surveillance, and widespread use of
terror tactics.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarianism)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hitler_and_Mussolini_June_1940.jpg