HOW TO ANALYSE CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES?

But we have not delivered any sermons. We alert students to some pitfalls. We do not want tell students what they should think. It is their job. We focus rather on how they should think about issues. In conclusion, we explain how to deal with questions on current controversies.

Students would have noticed the approach we adopted in dealing with modern ethical conundrums. Following the pattern we used in that chapter, students should consider the following five aspectsof any burning issue:

♤ Facts and issues involved

♤ Relevant theories bearing on it

♤ Stands which main ideologies take on the issue

♤ Supreme court/High court decisions, if any, on it

♤ Government’s stand on the issue.

After reading about the first three dimensions, they should form their views based on the last two aspects.

As we have already mentioned, students should think logically and objectively about issues without succumbing to momentary passions or herd mentality or group think. Nor should they see such controversies as opportunities for airing unfounded personal opinions or slogan shouting. That is not the vocation of would be scholars, managers or civil servants. It is rather to patiently think through and analyse issues. It is in this spirit that we mentioned a few current controversies and traced certain views on them to their ideological roots.

Summary

♤ Political attitudes are best understood based on the idea of political spectrum.

♤ Political spectrum is depiction of radical, liberal, moderate, conservative and reactionary views from left to right along a line.

♤ The five terms designate political attitudes which (a) seek changes in the existing political set up and (b) which uphold certain political values.

♤ The five groups differ in their views on political change, direction of change, depth of political changes they seek, speed of political change and methods of effecting change.

♤ “Radical” refers to individuals, parties, and movements that seek to drastically alter any existing practice, institution, or social system. As radicals are highly dissatisfied with the society, they want immediate and revolutionary changes, and espouse violence.

♤ The causes and aims of Radicalism and its forms have been changing in recent times. Many of these programmes have become part of the liberal democratic agenda in the West.

♤ Liberalism aims primarily at protecting and increasing an individual’s freedom, and fearing government overreach, seeks to restrict government power.

♤ Over time, liberalism got divided into classical liberalism and modern liberalism. Classical liberalism argues that government should merely protect individual liberty. Modern liberalism believes that government should enhance individual freedom by promoting conditions for its enjoyment by the poor.

♤ To ensure government’s accountability, liberals advocate government by majority rule through periodic election of government by popular vote.

♤ To reduce state power and protect individual freedom, liberals advocate separation of powers, periodic elections and creation of individual rights.

♤ Liberals generally disfavour state intervention in markets.

♤ They believe that free markets produce optimum results by maximizing production and ensuring due rewards to economic agents.

♤ Liberalism was questioned because unregulated industrialism created income inequalities, poverty and slums.

♤ The First World War and its turbulent aftermath shattered many liberal illusions. Between the two Great Wars, people turned to anti-democratic and to anti-liberal alternatives.

♤ JM Keynes propounded an economic doctrine that government management of the economy could smooth out the highs and lows of the business cycle to produce more or less consistent growth with minimal unemployment.

♤ Liberal policies in post War era brought about phenomenal growth in developed market economies. But growth slowed from 1970’s.

♤ Liberals favour limited intervention in the market for correcting its weaknesses.

♤ They use progressive taxes for bringing greater equality of wealth and income.

♤ Contemporary liberalism tried to extend individual rights in new directions.

♤ It led to laws forbidding discrimination against African Americans; and movements for equal rights for women, gays and lesbians, the physically or mentally disabled, and other minorities or disadvantaged social groups. Liberalism historically has sought to foster a plurality of different ways of life, or different conceptions of the “good life,”

♤ Based on the right of individual choice, liberalism promoted contraception, divorce, abortion, and homosexuality. Emphasis on right to freedom of speech reduced restrictions on depicting sexual content in works of art and culture.

♤ Moderates may belong to groups who combine elements from two rigid systems or doctrines.

♤ It is difficult to characterise moderate political positions or to identify political groups allied with them.

♤ They live in an uncomfortable half way house and draw flak from committed party ideologues.

♤ Suspicion of government activism separates conservatism from liberalism and radicalism.

♤ Two famous thinkers associated with conservatism are Chateaubriand in France and Edmund Burke in England.

♤ According to conservatives, men are neither good nor rational. On the contrary, they are driven by passions and desires, and are naturally selfish, disorderly, irrational, and violent

♤ Conservatives distrust human nature, rootless individuals disconnected with traditional social values, and untested innovations

♤ Traditional political and cultural institutions are needed to curb men’s base and destructive instincts.

♤ Conservative temperament abhors abstract argument and theorizing.

♤ Neoconservatives defended of middle-class virtues such as thrift, hard work, and self-restraint, which declined due to sexual freedom and lax life styles of 1960s.

♤ They identified high taxation and government’s intrusive regulation of private enterprise as hurdles to economic growth.

♤ Social welfare policies, they feel, are making their recipients increasingly dependent upon government.

♤ Reactionary outlook favours restoration of a previous, and usually outmoded, political or social order. Reactionaries hanker after a society whose days are over. It is a form of nostalgia for the past.

♤ Political Ideology is a form of social or political philosophy which combines theory and practice.

It is a system of ideas that seeks both to explain the world and to change it.

♤ In Destutt de Tracy’s original conception, ideology has five characteristics. Particular categories of ideology are socialism, communism, anarchism, fascism, nationalism, liberalism, and conservatism.

♤ In one conception of Hegel and Marx, ideology is a set of beliefs with which people deceive themselves; it is false consciousness.

♤ Sociology of knowledge (exemplified by Weber and Mannheim) regards idea systems as the outcome or expression of certain interests. The true nature of ideologies is hidden from their followers.

♤ But this sort of approach which attributes doctrines or ideologies to a believer’s unconscious mind runs into a contradiction. For the doctrine of sociology of knowledge itself becomes an unconscious rationalization. Mannerheimtries to overcomethis difficult bypostulatingsomewhat unconvincingly a classless class of intellectuals, a “socially unattached intelligentsia”.

♤ Political theorists are divided on whether ideologies are rational or irrational.

♤ Many critics notably Hannah Arendent and Karl Popper analyzed the “total” character of ideology, and opposed its extremism and violence. Arendent condemned the systematic violence of ideology or the crimes of logic committed in its name.

♤ Ideological writings are replete with military and warlike language.

♤ Many ideological writers go beyond language use and frankly approve violence.

♤ Many writers distinguish between ideological and pragmatic approaches to politics. They think that pragmatism is better than ideology.

♤ Most of 20th century was dominated by “-isms”. International diplomacy revolved around ideologies.

♤ Communism is a political and economic doctrine which seeks to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and control of the major means of production and the natural resources of a society.

♤ Marx is the chief theorist on Marxism. His theory covers three main aspects: (i) materialist conception of history; (2) critique of capitalism and its workings; and (3) revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and its eventual replacement by communism. Marxian ideas have been revised by later thinkers.

♤ Socialists advocate policies which meet the basic needs of the entire society instead of policies that serve needs of individuals.

♤ Later, socialists were called social democrats or democratic socialists. They reject Marxism- Leninism.

♤ Social democrats support peaceful, legal efforts to work toward socialism, and they believe in multiparty competition and civilliberties.

♤ Anarcho-communists argue that the state and private property are interdependent institutions. The state exists to protect private property, and the owners of private property protect the state. If property is to be owned communally and distributed equally, the state must be smashed once and for all.

♤ Fascism is a totalitarian ideology. It opposes liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. Fascism claims to be an elitist response to modern social and political problems which other ideologies are unable to resolve.

♤ Many factors influence people’s choices of political ideologies. They include: values, psychological traits, age, psychological reasons, and their view of human nature, their social milieu and economic interests.

♤ We tried to link various ideologies to Indian political and economic currents and contexts.

♤ We gave examples to show how ideological thinking influences debates on current issues.

♤ We mentioned that liberal western ideologies distort perceptions on current issues.

♤ Students should analyze burning issues based on facts and logic, relevant theories, positions of main ideologies on the issue, Supreme court/High court decisions, if any bearing on the issue, and government’s stand on the issue. After reading about the first three dimensions, they should form their views based on the last twoaspects.

♤ Students should think on the basis of facts and logic and not rely on spurious ideologies.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

(Answer each question inclusive of parts in around 150 words.)

(1) What is meant by the spectrum of political attitudes? What are the five main categories of political attitude? What are the two aspects over which they differ?

(2) What is status quo? What is establishment?

(3) How are political attitudes and ideologies related? What are the main features of radicalism? Name radical Indian groups and their agendas.

(4) How will you define liberalism, classical liberalism and modern liberalism?

(5) What is neo-liberalism? Does it differ, and if so in what manner, from modern liberalism and conservatism?

(6) What are the main tenets of conservatism? What will you regard as conservative values in Indian social context? Do they have any relevance?

(7) ‘Modernliberals makeuseof rights andentitlements astools for fightingsocial justice.’Discuss. Explain how MGNREGA and recent initiatives on school education reflect this approach.

(8) Recently a social worker approached Supreme Court seeking a ban on pornographic internet sites. Analyze this issue from liberal and conservative perspectives.

(9) One recent newspaper editorial proposed that the Film Censor Board should be abolished. Discuss the proposal from the angle of principal ideologies and of Indian policy makers.

(10) List themes which were once considered as radical but have now become part of liberal agenda in the West. Illustrate with examples how this trend is influencing for good and bad attitudes to some social issues in India.

(11) How will you define ideology? Name some important ideologies and their position on the spectrum of politicalattitudes.

(12) Are ideologies reflections of false consciousness? What is thestand of sociology of knowledge on this question? Is it logically acceptable?

(13) Write short notes (50 words each) on: (i) ideology and rationality (ii) ideology and violence

(iii) ideology and pragmatism and (iv) ideology and 20th century diplomacy.

(14) What are the main strands of Marx’s theory of communism? What are the changes that Lenin introduced in it?

(15) How will you distinguish communism from social democracy? List the socialist components of Indian economic policies. Name those still in place after economic reforms.

(16) What are the main features of fascism? Why is it considered a dangerous doctrine?

(17) What are the factors which influence an individual’s political attitudes? What weight will you assign to economic and psychological factors?

(18) What aretherelevant aspects for analysingcontroversial issues? Shouldcivil servants be guided by personal convictions or dominant ideologies or laws and court decisions?

(19) Discuss with examples the manner in which liberal western ideologies influence our thinking on national and social problems. Point out the relevance and limitations of these ideologies to Indian political and social situations.

(20) Chinese communists and media proudly display their patriotic and national fervour and celebrate their global status and dominance. In India, communists and leftists are apologetic and diffident about nationalism. What could be the explanation of the opposing attitudes generated by the same ideology in the two countries?

REFERENCES

The Spectrumof Political Attitudes (Chapter 2): available on internet but with no mention of thebook’s title or the author.

Analysing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science Ellen Grigsby (available on internet)

Ideology Maurice Cranston Encyclopaedia Britannica

Radicals and Radicalism Dictionary of American History

Liberalism Terence Ball, Harry K. Girvetz, Kenneth Minogue, Richard Dagger Encyclopaedia Britannica

Conservatism Peter Vivereck, Terence Ball, Kenneth Minogue, Richard Dagger Encyclopaedia Britannica