Political Ideologies
1. Was Francis Fukuyama correct to argue that, after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, history had ended?
2. What is populism? And what is populism’s relationship with the three main modern political ideologies? Answer the question with reference to either liberalism, or conservatism, or socialism.
3. What are the key ideological differences between classical liberals and social liberals? Do these differences make it difficult to conceptualize liberalism as a coherent ideological phenomenon?
4. Explain and assess the feminist critique of patriarchy.
5. To what extent, if any, does religious fundamentalism pose a threat to ‘Western values’?
6. Compare and contrast the anarchist approach to the state with that of any of the other ideologies discussed on this module. Which approach do you find intellectually more convincing?
7. Does the ‘Eco-centrism’ of Green ideology give rise to a distinctive value system? If so, how would an Eco-centric value system differ from the underlying value systems of the three main modern ideologies? Answer the question with reference to either liberalism, or conservatism, or socialism.
8. What role do private property and capitalism play in modern ideologies? Answer the question with reference to two ideologies that were discussed as part of this module.