Power of Ideas

• Socialism: was coined by Henri de Saint-Simon, one of the founders of what would later be labelled utopian socialism. Simon contrasted it to the liberal doctrine of individualism that emphasized the moral worth of the individual whilst stressing that people act or should act as if they are in isolation from one another.

• Utopian Socialism: one way to prepare society for the millennium, utopian socialists argued, was to create these small, perfect communities. As one American utopian said in 1844, ''Our ulterior aim is nothing less than Heaven on Earth. '' This way of thinking did not work for obvious reasons, it is really difficult to create perfect communities in which everyone will be comfortable and happy because of how us humans have many different preferences.

Pros and Cons of Socialism ProsConsRedistribution of incomeHistory has shown that socialist regimes often failRedistribution of wealthToo much power for politiciansImprovements in social stabilityPeople may lose the incentive to work hardFree HealthcareHigher taxes for people who earn high salariesLess povertyMay not be sustainable in the long run

There are 2 predominant forms of relativism

• Anthropological relativism refers to a methodological stance, in which the researcher suspends (or brackets) his or her own cultural prejudice while trying to understand beliefs or behaviors in their contexts. This has become known as methodological relativism, and concerns itself specifically with avoiding ethnocentrism or the application of one's own cultural standards to the assessment of other cultures.

Philosophical relativism, in contrast, asserts that the truth of a proposition depends on the metaphysical, or theoretical frame, or the instrumental method, or the context in which the proposition is expressed, or on the person, groups, or culture who interpret the proposition.

• Descriptive versus normative relativism The concept of relativism also has importance both for philosophers and for anthropologists in another way. In general, anthropologists engage in descriptive relativism ("how things are" or "how things seem"), whereas philosophers engage in normative relativism ("how things ought to be"), although there is some overlap (for example, descriptive relativism can pertain to concepts, normative relativism to truth). Descriptive relativism assumes that certain cultural groups have different modes of thought, standards of reasoning, and so forth, and it is the anthropologist's task to describe, but not to evaluate the validity of these principles and practices of a cultural group. It is possible for an anthropologist in his or her fieldwork to be a descriptive relativist about some things that typically concern the philosopher (e.g., ethical principles) but not about others (e.g., logical principles).

• It is said that dialectical thinking was first created by Zeno of Elea, Aristotle was the one who said that it was the pre-Socratic philosopher Zeno of Elea who invented dialectic, of which the dialogues of Plato are the examples of the Socratic dialectical method. According to Kant, however, the ancient Greeks used the word "dialectic" to signify the logic of false appearance or semblance.

• A dialectic is when two seemingly conflicting things are true at the same time. For example, “It’s snowing and it is spring”. You might also see dialectics when in conflict with other people.

Examples

• “I feel happy and I feel sad”
• “I feel too tired to work and I can do my work anyway”;
• “I love you and I hate you”.

• Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.

• Natural Selection Lonesome George lived in the Galapagos, a chain of volcanic islands off the coast of Ecuador, in South America—islands that forever changed our understanding of the natural world. While visiting the Galapagos in 1835, British naturalist Charles Darwin observed local plants and animals. He became fascinated by species that seemed related to ones found on the mainland—but that also had many physical variations unique to different islands. Over time, Darwin began to wonder if species from South America had reached the Galapagos and then changed as they adapted to new environments. This idea—that species could change over time—eventually led to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.

• Evolution Theory His revolutionary book On the Origin of Species was published in 1859 (it was originally named “On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”). In his book, he proposed that the adaptability of species arises not by choice but due to a shortage of resources and a change in the environment, which inherently makes it necessary for a species to change in order to survive, as it fights to ensure the continuation of its generation over time. Such adaptations led to a change in the traits of sub-classes, though their original class remains common. This idea of 'natural selection' was a theory which was proposed by Darwin in his highly controversial (at least in the 1850s) book which stated that as all species (including humans) evolved over time, there was a common lineage in terms of inherent anatomical traits that linked all species to a common ancestor.

• Philosopher John Locke is often credited with founding liberalism as a distinct tradition, based on the social contract, arguing that each man has a natural right to life, liberty and property and governments must not violate these rights.

• Liberalism started developing in the 19th century, building on ideas from the previous century as a response to urbanization and to the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America.

• Liberalism is derived from two related features of Western culture. The first is the West’s preoccupation with individuality, as compared to the emphasis in other civilizations on status, caste, and tradition. Throughout much of history, the individual has been submerged in and subordinate to his clan, tribe, ethnic group, or kingdom. Liberalism is the culmination of developments in Western society that produced a sense of the importance of human individuality, a liberation of the individual from complete subservience to the group, and a relaxation of the tight hold of custom, law, and authority. In this respect, liberalism stands for the emancipation of the individual.See alsoindividualism.

• Liberalism has a close but sometimes uneasy relationship with democracy. At the centre of democratic doctrine is the belief that governments derive their authority from popular election; liberalism, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with the scope of governmental activity. Liberals often have been wary of democracy, then, because of fears that it might generate a tyranny by the majority. One might briskly say, therefore, that democracy looks after majorities and liberalism after unpopular minorities.

• Bishop George Berkeley is sometimes known as the "Father of Idealism", and he formulated one of the purest forms of Idealism in the early 18th Century.

• The two basic forms of idealism are metaphysical idealism, which asserts the ideality of reality, and epistemological idealism, which holds that in the knowledge process the mind can grasp only the psychic or that its objects are conditioned by their perceptibility. In its metaphysics, idealism is thus directly opposed to materialism—the view that the basic substance of the world is matter and that it is known primarily through and as material forms and processes. In its epistemology, it is opposed to realism, which holds that in human knowledge objects are grasped and seen as they really are—in their existence outside and independently of the mind.

• Anarchism, cluster of doctrines and attitudes centred on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary. Anarchist thought developed in the West and spread throughout the world, principally in the early 20th century.

• Anarchist The first person to willingly call himself an anarchist was the French political writer and pioneer socialist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. In his controversial study of the economic bases of society, Qu’est-ce que la propriété? (1840; What Is Property?), Proudhon argued that the real laws of society have nothing to do with authority but rather stem from the nature of society itself, and he foresaw the eventual dissolution of authority and the emergence of a natural social order.

• Anarchism as a Movement A crucial development in the history of anarchism was the emergence of the doctrine of “propaganda of the deed.” In 1876 Errico Malatesta expressed the belief held by Italian anarchists that “the insurrectionary deed destined to affirm socialist principles by acts, is the most efficacious means of propaganda.” The first acts were rural insurrections intended to arouse the illiterate masses of the Italian countryside. After the insurrections failed, anarchist activism tended to take the form of acts of terrorism by individual protesters, who would attempt to kill ruling figures to make the state appear vulnerable and to inspire the masses with their self-sacrifice. Between 1890 and 1901 several such symbolic murders were carried out; the victims included King Umberto I of Italy, the empress consort Elizabeth of Austria, President Sadi Carnot of France, President William McKinley of the United States, and Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, the prime minister of Spain. This dramatic series of terrorist acts established the image of the anarchist as a mindless destroyer, an image that was further strengthened as anarchist attacks on government officials, as well as on restaurants and other public places, became more widespread.

• Revolutionary Nationalist Individuals and organizations described as being revolutionary nationalist include some political currents within the French Revolution, Irish republicans engaged in armed struggle against the British crown, the Can Vuong movement against French rule in 19th century Vietnam, the Indian independence movement in the 20th century, some participants in the Mexican Revolution, Benito Mussolini and the Italian Fascists, the Autonomous Government of Khorasan, Augusto Cesar Sandino, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement in Bolivia, black nationalism in the United States, and some African independence movements.

• Africa Several African independence movements in the 20th century have been characterized as revolutionary nationalism. One African anti-colonial leader considered to have been a revolutionary nationalist was Amilcar Cabral, who led independence movements in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.Cabral founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde in 1956. The party began an armed struggle against the Portuguese colonial authorities in 1963, and eventually Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde won their independence in 1974 and 1975 respectively. This colonial war also led to the rise of the Armed Forces Movement in Portugal itself, which overthrew the dictatorship in that country.Cabral's revolutionary nationalism was embodied in the concept of "unity and struggle," which aimed to unite the various ethnic and cultural communities of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde into a single national identity based on the struggle against colonial rule.

• Asia The term revolutionary nationalism has been used to describe elements of the Indian independence movement that opposed British rule in India. The Indian state of Jharkhand was host to revolutionary nationalist political groups starting in the period between 1902 and 1918, and especially from 1912 onward. The Dhaka Anushilan Samiti and other nationalist movements from Bengal extended their operations into Jharkhand during this period, and their aim was to inspire a large violent uprising against British rule. They sought to obtain dynamite, gunpowder and other explosives from the mines of Jharkhand, but their activities were discovered and many revolutionary nationalists were arrested.

• Europe In Europe, the term revolutionary nationalism has been applied to a variety of nationalist political movements, stretching back to the French Revolution of the 18th century. French revolutionary nationalism was a form of civic nationalism, seeking to impose a common national identity on the entire population of France, regardless of ethnic origin or regional cultures and languages. This nationalism was revolutionary in that it aimed at a "homogenization of mankind," not wishing to "exclude anyone who does not fit a particular ethnic profile but rather to include anyone willing to adopt a particular cultural identity."

• America In Bolivia, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement is a political party that was formed in 1941, led the National Revolution of 1952, and ruled the country from 1952 to 1964. According to Winston Moore Casanovas, revolutionary nationalism "has become an anti-oligarchical ideology of the dominated sector, the official ideology of the Bolivian state after 1952, and stands at the heart of the rationale of the authoritarian military regimes in power from 1964 onwards."In Peru, the military government of Juan Velasco Alvarado from 1968 to 1975 has been called a revolutionary nationalist period in the country's history. The Nicaraguan revolutionary leader Augusto Cesar Sandino, who fought against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the late 1920s and early 1930s, has also been called a revolutionary nationalist.