Government Systems and Political Ideologies

Communitarianism

Origin

The philosophy was born in the late 20th century in response to the observation of a “breakdown in the moral fabric of society” dominated by individualism. In 1990, proponents of this philosophy gathered to formulate the core ideas. In 1993, Amitai Etzioni formed the Communitarian Network. They see themselves as promoting social movement similar to the Progressive movement in the start of twentieth century.

Pros and Cons

Communitarian perspective

In a communitarian society, the communities and the polities must be responsible to its members and their needs while the members within the society-that’s us, should dedicate some of their attention, energy and resources to the communities and for the welfare of other members in them. In some sense, the idea can be summed up into a common slogan, “One for all, all for one.” The communitarian stresses that individual rights should be appreciated and preserved, but should be balanced with the interests of the community. You can say that communitarian philosophy is a compromise between left and right politics. Communitarian does not always stand up against liberty and democracy (in fact he claims himself to be highly democratic and do not restore values using coercion but persuasion and implementing legitimate measures), but emphasizes on the social side of human nature, that no independent individual can survive long outside the community. Communitarian also seeks to restore and revive the moral voices that lost and eroded away in a community greatly dominated by individualism, self-interests and greed. Communitarians thus proposed that we would have to restore these voices by providing education to the young fellow citizens, starting with the family first; the parents bear the responsibility of attending to their offspring’s moral education. The schools and institutions also play a major role in nurturing the youths to be morally strong citizens in the future by instilling them the shared values.

The Society

In a communitarian society, citizens should be more active in managing their society and take their initiative to set up the social subsystems instead of removing the tasks to be assigned to the government or other larger institutions. Communitarians suggest instead of replacing these systems, it should aid them by various strategies of support. The people are also encouraged to raise their concerns and share their experiments with others. They are also urged to create their service or engaged in voluntary work; the communitarians believed that by doing so, mutual respect, spirit of corporation and tolerance will be greatly promoted in a larger sphere. Citizens are urged to be more participatory in polity by voting as this keeps the candidates reflective of their views and community. Another way of being responsive is by paying taxes for their rights and volunteering oneself to serve on juries. People should treat the community as larger family in which mutual aid and support is required among individuals. Freedom of speech should be preserved while non-legal measures can be conducted to clear the unwanted problems it has created such as hate speech of racism. Communitarians also urge the citizens need to be responsible of themselves as well as others in the aspect of public health and public safety. For example, refusing to accept a sobriety check for the sake of privacy and self-liberty is being irresponsible for the safety of one as well as posing a burden for the community (when he or she is injured) and threatening the lives of others.

The Philosophical Communitarians

The communitarian rejects the idea of human being as “atomistic individuals” and that shared values is just a tiny element in a human being’s brain. They stressed that ideas, beliefs and values are generated and exist in the community and being individual merely means taking a stance on a certain value and issues that existed in the public. To determine which is the proper moral stance, we have to depend on the circumstances of time and place. This gives an idea that community existed earlier before individuals. These communitarians with such beliefs are called the philosophical communitarian who discusses this doctrine within it’s philosophical traditions, emphasizing more on the theory part.

Public Opinions

In a CPN article, it is stated that communitarian philosophy has a great influence on the academia and receive great support from the USA president Bill Clinton. However, communitarian receives criticisms from others. They have described by some liberalists to be collectivists “ in stealth”. This is because that their economic aim is marked with a tinge of leftism. Communitarian hopes to reduce the role of private money and capital in life as it creates a situation where public interests are ignored as “legislators pay off their debts to special interests.” Etzioni was also criticized as being contradictory about restoring traditional values. He put an emphasis on neighbourhood and families while opposing to traditional communities of authoritarianism. He was open to any form of community but displaying a bias on the current economic institutions and not including corporatism as a form of community. Etzioni also focused on tolerance, neutrality and mutual respect for beliefs of others while using ostracism to express disapproval of those who were not in line with the society simply because they are anti-social. As you can see , the social mechanism employed by Etzioni is very contradictory towards the idea of tolerance. Another criticism is that communitarian rejects negative rights (freedom to make decisions without interfering by others such as freedom to speak) in favor of the positive rights (moral obligation for someone to do something (the rights) for another person, such as education subsidy), this translates into to investing the society the power to regulate individuals for the sake of reducing their burden on it. Other critics simply view communitarian philosophy as another form of conservatism.

School of Thoughts

Communitarianism is related to the "Asian soft authoritarianism". Though many Asian political structure very much represent a western constitutional democracy, they nevertheless share some characteristics that are not present in western democracy-a hierarchical society that stressed on conformity to group interests. From my experience staying in Singapore, the government plays a role of paternalistic person and guiding spirit of society while the people are encouraged to serve the community and the group rather living individually(as Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had referred Singaporeans as "one happy family") , much like the system of communitarian society. Therefore, maybe we can say this "Asian soft authoritarianism" can be attributed to a school of communitarinism as it shares many common characteristics with the latter.

References

The Communitarian Network. (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 22, 2008, from http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/platformtext.html.

The Communitarian Network. (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 24, 2008, from http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/about_us.html.

Communitarianism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2008, March 12). Retrieved Mar. 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communitarianism .

Sirianni , C., & Friedland, L. (n.d.). CPN - Tools. Retrieved Mar. 23, 2008, from http://www.cpn.org/tools/dictionary/communitarian.html.

Younkins, E. W. (2001, September 1). AMITAI ETZIONI'S RESPONSIVE COMMUNITY:. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from , Web site: http://www.quebecoislibre.org/010901-13.htm

	Communitarianism Origin The philosophy was born in the late 20th century in response to the observation of a “breakdown in the moral fabric of society” dominated by individualism. In 1990, proponents of this philosophy gathered to formulate the core ideas. In 1993, Amitai Etzioni formed the Communitarian Network. They see themselves as promoting social movement similar to the Progressive movement in the start of twentieth century. Pros and Cons Communitarian perspective In a communitarian society, the communities and the polities must be responsible to its members and their needs while the members within the society-that’s us, should dedicate some of their attention, energy and resources to the communities and for the welfare of other members in them. In some sense, the idea can be summed up into a common slogan, “One for all, all for one.” The communitarian stresses that individual rights should be appreciated and preserved, but should be balanced with the interests of the community. You can say that communitarian philosophy is a compromise between left and right politics. Communitarian does not always stand up against liberty and democracy (in fact he claims himself to be highly democratic and do not restore values using coercion but persuasion and implementing legitimate measures), but emphasizes on the social side of human nature, that no independent individual can survive long outside the community. Communitarian also seeks to restore and revive the moral voices that lost and eroded away in a community greatly dominated by individualism, self-interests and greed. Communitarians thus proposed that we would have to restore these voices by providing education to the young fellow citizens, starting with the family first; the parents bear the responsibility of attending to their offspring’s moral education. The schools and institutions also play a major role in nurturing the youths to be morally strong citizens in the future by instilling them the shared values. The Society In a communitarian society, citizens should be more active in managing their society and take their initiative to set up the social subsystems instead of removing the tasks to be assigned to the government or other larger institutions. Communitarians suggest instead of replacing these systems, it should aid them by various strategies of support. The people are also encouraged to raise their concerns and share their experiments with others. They are also urged to create their service or engaged in voluntary work; the communitarians believed that by doing so, mutual respect, spirit of corporation and tolerance will be greatly promoted in a larger sphere. Citizens are urged to be more participatory in polity by voting as this keeps the candidates reflective of their views and community. Another way of being responsive is by paying taxes for their rights and volunteering oneself to serve on juries. People should treat the community as larger family in which mutual aid and support is required among individuals. Freedom of speech should be preserved while non-legal measures can be conducted to clear the unwanted problems it has created such as hate speech of racism. Communitarians also urge the citizens need to be responsible of themselves as well as others in the aspect of public health and public safety. For example, refusing to accept a sobriety check for the sake of privacy and self-liberty is being irresponsible for the safety of one as well as posing a burden for the community (when he or she is injured) and threatening the lives of others. The Philosophical Communitarians The communitarian rejects the idea of human being as “atomistic individuals” and that shared values is just a tiny element in a human being’s brain. They stressed that ideas, beliefs and values are generated and exist in the community and being individual merely means taking a stance on a certain value and issues that existed in the public. To determine which is the proper moral stance, we have to depend on the circumstances of time and place. This gives an idea that community existed earlier before individuals. These communitarians with such beliefs are called the philosophical communitarian who discusses this doctrine within it’s philosophical traditions, emphasizing more on the theory part. Public Opinions In a CPN article, it is stated that communitarian philosophy has a great influence on the academia and receive great support from the USA president Bill Clinton. However, communitarian receives criticisms from others. They have described by some liberalists to be collectivists “ in stealth”. This is because that their economic aim is marked with a tinge of leftism. Communitarian hopes to reduce the role of private money and capital in life as it creates a situation where public interests are ignored as “legislators pay off their debts to special interests.” Etzioni was also criticized as being contradictory about restoring traditional values. He put an emphasis on neighbourhood and families while opposing to traditional communities of authoritarianism. He was open to any form of community but displaying a bias on the current economic institutions and not including corporatism as a form of community. Etzioni also focused on tolerance, neutrality and mutual respect for beliefs of others while using ostracism to express disapproval of those who were not in line with the society simply because they are anti-social. As you can see , the social mechanism employed by Etzioni is very contradictory towards the idea of tolerance. Another criticism is that communitarian rejects negative rights (freedom to make decisions without interfering by others such as freedom to speak) in favor of the positive rights (moral obligation for someone to do something (the rights) for another person, such as education subsidy), this translates into to investing the society the power to regulate individuals for the sake of reducing their burden on it. Other critics simply view communitarian philosophy as another form of conservatism. School of Thoughts Communitarianism is related to the "Asian soft authoritarianism". Though many Asian political structure very much represent a western constitutional democracy, they nevertheless share some characteristics that are not present in western democracy-a hierarchical society that stressed on conformity to group interests. From my experience staying in Singapore, the government plays a role of paternalistic person and guiding spirit of society while the people are encouraged to serve the community and the group rather living individually(as Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had referred Singaporeans as "one happy family") , much like the system of communitarian society. Therefore, maybe we can say this "Asian soft authoritarianism" can be attributed to a school of communitarinism as it shares many common characteristics with the latter. References The Communitarian Network. (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 22, 2008, from http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/platformtext.html. The Communitarian Network. (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 24, 2008, from http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/about_us.html. Communitarianism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2008, March 12). Retrieved Mar. 22, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communitarianism . Sirianni , C., & Friedland, L. (n.d.). CPN - Tools. Retrieved Mar. 23, 2008, from http://www.cpn.org/tools/dictionary/communitarian.html. Younkins, E. W. (2001, September 1). AMITAI ETZIONI'S RESPONSIVE COMMUNITY:. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from , Web site: http://www.quebecoislibre.org/010901-13.htm
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A to Z government systems A system where a Government is unnecessary and undesirable whichmeans that everything is based on voluntary cooperation by individuals and groups A system where a Government is unnecessary and undesirable which means that everything is based on voluntary cooperation by individuals and groups One person who has absolute rule over a country or a state and is usually hereditary or they claim as being given divine right with or without advisors. A system combining Anarchism and capitalism A system where there is no State or capitalism A system combing Anarchism and savagery where savagery means acceptance comes easily. A system where there are no hierarchies such as political or economic hierarchies. A system where labour is emphasized and thus it has trade unions that replace the State A system where there is more democratic decision-making A government with only a few people who are thought to be best qualified. A system where the people vote on the legislation and executive bills instead of electing leaders to do it for them. A concentration of power in a leader who is not constitutionally responsible to the people A one person government. A system that is ruled by enlightened monarchs. A system that is suitable for Islams as this system represents the political unity of the Muslims A system that combines republic and capitalism together. A system where the health of the community is the first priority A system where there is no such thing as a private property because the goods are owned by the government and is available to anyone if needed A system where many opinions are taken into consideration before making decisions The system of Constitutional Monarchy has a Head of State that does not change as the governments change and a Government. Only the elected Officials can pass laws, the Head of State acts as an advisor to the Officials. Leaders are elected by the people but the leaders have a limited power over the people and must go according to constitutional laws A system where there are civic assemblies which represents the country's economic, social, industry and cultural aspects A system where the making of laws must arise from the public if not the law cannot be approved. A system where there is democratic representations in a country without the use of elections. A democratic republic is a country where there is freedom of speech, election and press. A system where two rulers have equal shared absolute power over the country Government organization or group in with unlimited power A true democratic system where the people elect their leaders System where ruler with absolute power over the country. A system similar to that of tyranny where all is controlled by one man. A system ruled by dukes or duchesses A system combining Anarchism but with saving the environment as their first priority. A monarchy whose ruler is elected by the people. A monarchy that is Arab-suited A system that concentrates on the society's welfare as a whole and thus seeks patriotism. A system used by the medieval age where warriors and nobility rule. A system where the oldest are the leaders A system ruled by grand dukes or grand duchesses A system where the power lies with the loser level of government such as the name suggests, grassroots A system for the Jews because non-Jews would not be granted full citizenship. A monarchy where the kingship is passed to the sons when the father dies. A system with the Pope as its leader. A system where the people elect their leaders but the leaders have the freedom to do what they want. A system combining democracy with a religion, Islam A name that is given to many Muslim countries Government by those who want power and personal gain. A system where judges rule and rules by natural rights A system where judges rule but based on the judges opinions A system where the people elect the leaders to make decisions for them. A system which emphasizes on liberty, freedom for the people. A system where absolute power is given to magicians and wizards A government where females rule. Government by those with talent. A system where military force is used to establish freedom and liberty. A military-based government that has absolute rule over the country A system combining oligarchy, democracy and monarchy. A democratic system where there are no government parties. A small group which makes up the government which is usually corrupted and do things for their own sake. Government by the majority. A system where the people are allowed to coose whatever government system they want. A system similar to the parliamentary system except that the head of state does not have that much power. A system where the parliament checks on the executive branch of the government A system where voting is limited and where politicians take care of the governing of the country A system where the people vote on the legislation and executive bills instead of electing leaders to do it for them. Timocracy, Government controlled by the rich. A state where government uses police by means to control the life of the citizens. A monarchy where the monarch's title is linked to the people. A system where the executive branch is independent of the legislative branch. A monarchy where the monarch's title is prince A system combining democracy and religion A system where the government is elected by the people and the government has the responsibility in acting in people's interest. A system where there is restricted democracy A system where robots rule One person who proclaims himself as king which would usually lead to hereditary monarchy. A system similar to that of a presidential system except for the fact that the president and prime minister gets involved in everyday decision-making. A system where there is only 1 government party running the country and no other party is allowed to enter for elections. A system combining socialism and democracy A system that emphasizes on socialism that also has aspects of free market in its economy. A democratic system where workers are represented in government too. A system where the rulers are those highly-skilled and qualified. Maritime (relating to navigation or commerce on the sea) government Government of a state by divine rule, usually by people who are guided by the deities Government of a state by God. A democratic system where the leader is elected but has absolute rule. Absolute state which the people must follow orders from. Tribalism existed during the time of primitive men. Thus, it has a sense of primitive in it. However, it also emphasizes on communism and equality. A government ruled by an oppressive and severely unjust ruler. A system with administrative divisions governed by a person who is governed by the viceroy. A system combining democracy and parliamentary system which is somewhat similar to the United nations is adopting Auto: Manual: Drag Me