George Orwell.
Well, that sounds about right to me. I can't remember who said it, but "wolves in different shades of grey" always stuck with me.
Anyway, if you hadn't guessed this is about British politics. I planned on writing a few different posts, but for now we'll just see how this one goes over, it's bound to be more divisive than films...
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| Something my friend shared on Facebook. Scary, huh? |
The following is NOT my own work (starting from under the image), and is re-blogged here from 3 different sites;
dummies.com, thinkingpolitics.org and idontgetpolitics.co.uk. Afterwards I have included detailed yet easy-to-grasp poster form
infomationisbeautiful.net addressing "left and right wing ideology", it's well worth a look.
Anyway, it's to serve as a simple way into a complicated subject and assumes no prior knowledge. Hope this helps anyone who struggles to keep up with the news, myself included...
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| The last person to enter parliament with honest intentions was Guy Fawkes |
Ideologies:
Let’s face it, ideologies
are confusing things. The -ism bit seems to makes them so very forgettable. But
not anymore! Here’s a quick alphabetical guide to the major (and not so major)
political ideas that inspire people to get involved in politics.
Anarchism:
Can be grouped around socialistic or
individualistic strains. Anarchists believe that the state and forms of
compulsory government are harmful or unnecessary to people’s lives.
Communism:
Communists believe that capitalist system
is damaging to interests of masses, and that workers must unite and overturn it
by revolutionary means. Communists also believe in the state ownership of all
land, natural resources and industry.
Conservatism:
Conservative thought is coloured by the
belief that – over time – history has produced institutions and modes of
government that function well, and which should be largely preserved for the
future. They also believe that political change should be organic and gradual,
rather than revolutionary.
Environmentalism:
Key political concern is protecting and
improving the condition of the natural environment. Many believe there is a
need for much greater regulation of humans’ interaction with the environment,
and aspects of our lifestyles are environmentally unsustainable.
Feminism:
The belief that society and the political
system is patriarchal. Feminists seek to improve the political and
particularly, the social and economic position of women.
Liberalism:
The belief in protecting the rights of
individual, so as to ensure their maximum freedom. There have been shifts in
liberal thought, the most prominent of which was the move from classical
liberalism (minimal role of state, unsecured liberties) to progressive
liberalism in early twentieth century. Progressive liberals argued that civil
liberties and freedoms must be safeguarded and actively protected by state.
Socialism:
Socialists are motivated by the desire to
improve quality of life for all members of society. They believe in a political
system characterised by strong state direction in political and economic
policy. Another key idea is redistribution of resources to redress inequalities
inherent in free-market economy.
General info of the political system in the UK
The UK is a parliamentary democracy with The
Queen as the Head of State. The Prime Minister leads the government and people
vote in elections for MPs who will represent them in Parliament.
The
Queen
Elizabeth II is a constitutional monarch:
that is, she is Britain’s head of state, but her executive powers are limited
by constitutional rules. Her role is mostly symbolic: she represents Britain on
state visits and on ceremonial occasions. According to the royal website, her
primary role is as a “focus of national unity”.
She is queen of 16 former British
colonies, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand; and head of the
Commonwealth, a multinational body created after the dissolution of the British
Empire.
The
Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is head of the UK
government, currently David Cameron of the Conservative Party. He is ultimately
responsible for all policy and decisions. He; oversees the operation of the
Civil Service (which does the practical and administrative work of government)
and government agencies, appoints members of the government, and is the
principal government figure in the House of Commons.
Coalition
The Conservative/Liberal Democrat
coalition government was formed on 10 May 2010. The coalition agreement sets
out a joint programme for government to “rebuild the economy, unlock social
mobility, mend the political system and give people the power to call the shots
over the decisions that affect their lives”.
House
of Commons (the lower chamber, the UK is bicameral)
The UK public elects 650 Members of
Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests and concerns in the House of
Commons. MPs consider and propose new laws, and can scrutinise government policies
by asking ministers questions about current issues either in the Commons
Chamber or in Committees.
House
of Lords
The House of Lords is the second chamber
of the UK Parliament. It is independent from, and complements the work of, the
elected House of Commons. The Lords shares the task of making and shaping laws
and checking and challenging the work of the government.
Shadow
government
The Shadow Cabinet is made up of
frontbench MPs and Members of the Lords from the second largest party, or
official Opposition party. The Opposition party appoints an MP to ‘shadow’ each
of the members of the Cabinet. In this way the Opposition can make sure that it
looks at every part of the Government and can question them thoroughly. It also
means that the Opposition has MPs and Lords that are ready to take specific
jobs in the Cabinet if they win at the next General Election. In the House of
Lords the term “spokesperson” is used instead of “shadow”.
Political
parties in the Commons
In addition to the main three parties,
the Commons has a range of other political groups also elected by the public.
This includes nationalist organisations like Plaid Cymru (Wales) and the
Scottish National Party, Northern Ireland’s various political parties and
minority parties like the Green Party or Respect.
Political
parties in the Lords
Outside of the main parties there are a
small number of Members that are not affiliated with a main political party and
those belonging to minority groups. In addition there are a limited number of
Church of England archbishops and bishops and the Crossbench Peers group.
The Crossbench Peers group is currently
the second largest group in the Lords (after Labour); and is formed by
independent Members who don’t take a party whip – which means that they are not
told how to vote by a political party.
Right and Left Wing - What Does it Mean?
People are always going on
about ‘left wing’ and ‘right wing’ - but what does it mean? Well it basically
means what people believe a country should do for its citizens.
Left
Wing
Left wing beliefs are usually progressive
in nature, they look to the future, aim to support those who cannot support
themselves, are idealist and believe in equality. People who are left wing
believe in taxation to redistribute opportunity and wealth - things like a National
Health Service and job seeker’s allowance are fundamentally left wing ideas.
They believe in equality over the freedom to fail.
In the UK the main left wing parties are
the Labour Party and the Green Party. They believe in making laws that protect
women, ethnic minorities, and gay people against discrimination. They believe
that we should tax rich people more to support people less well off, and they
believe we should regulate big businesses so they serve people’s interests.
They believe that a good welfare system means people are healthier, more able
to work, and will put more back into the economy. They also typically believe
country-wide tax-funded action on climate change is necessary.
Right
Wing
Right wing beliefs value tradition, they
are about equity, survival of the fittest, and they believe in economic
freedom. They typically believe that business shouldn’t be regulated, and that
we should all look after ourselves. Right wing people tend believe they
shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s education or health service. They
believe in freedom to succeed over equality.
In the UK the main right wing parties are
the Conservative (or Tory) Party, and UKIP (who focus on the UK not being a
part of the European Union). They believe that if you have more money, you
should get to keep it, and buy better education and health services for
yourself. They believe that businesses should be less regulated, and that the
more money they earn, they’ll bring more benefits to the country. In 2008 2/3
of Tory MPs didn’t think climate change was a priority, but their leadership
says it’s important. They are more likely to focus on energy security (oil and
gas are set to run out very soon, and they won’t want to rely on other
countries).
Far
Left to Far Right
Communism, Socialist Worker’s Party, Green
Party, Unions, ‘old’ Labour, ‘mainstream’ Labour, Lib Dems*, ‘mainstream’
Conservative, ‘traditional’ Conservative, UKIP, BNP, Nazism.
Further
Notes
*The Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) are
another major party in the UK but people often argue about where they fall,
politically. They have some traditionally left wing ideas, and some right wing
ones as well, for simplicity I have put them in the middle of this diagram.
Extreme versions of either scale, Left
and Right, have caused the deaths of many thousands of people; see Communism or
Nazism.
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| http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/left-vs-right-world/ |
