Political Ideologies and Public Policy - Essay Example

Political Ideologies and Public Policy Instructor’s Name: Institutional Affiliation: Date Submitted: Political Ideologies and Public Policy Introduction In Arts and Social Sciences, Political ideologies are viewed as sets of moral epitomes, myths, doctrines, or ciphers of social space, institutions and categorizations that describes the functionality of a society or societies. According to Van de Haar (2015:8), political ideologies, in addition to expressing and soldering public policy values, give some cultural and political schemes for a particular social construction. In the author’s opinion, this is, largely, because most political ideologies often look into how to acquire and allocate power, and extents to which it should be applied. Over the years, political philosophers have continuously come with several partisan ideologies or ways of organizing governments and societies. Famous amongst these include liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, and absolutism (Chebankova 2015:245). This paper delves on how a particular political ideology would shape responses to a particular policy debate. In this regard, liberalism, as a political ideology, is the subject of the paper. Liberalism, and its core values Liberalism, as a political ideology, centers on the values of equality, rationalism, progress, economic freedom, individual liberty, the rule of law, and limited and democratic government (Smith 1982:36). Therefore, unlike other political ideologies, like conservatism, liberalism denounces social, political, and economic inequality. Each of these values points to a specific sense of perspectives, actions, and expectations. Individual liberty, for instance, implies that people take priority over society (Leaman 1999:34). Meaning, individuals must enjoy freedom from oppressive or undue limits on their thoughts, actions or beliefs enforced by the state. Today, some of the significant liberties practiced in liberal nations include freedom of religion, association, speech, and press (Leaman 1999:45). Conventionally, liberty is always hinged on the “harm principle,” which presupposes that liberty is always at plays and in favor of an individual who does not harm other people. Equality, on the other hands, is handled in two dimensions under this ideology. That is, in terms of treatment and opportunity allocation. Liberalism holds that no one is politically or morally superior to others, suggesting that hierarchies are not a favorable character are a liberal state (Mangum 2013:1226). In the same line, equality of opportunity, as perpetrated by liberals, is pegged on the belief that unfair practices must beabolished and that the bearing of boundless impartialities of wealth needs to be reduced (Irwin 2012:7). In this regard, therefore, liberalism advocates dynamic public policies aimed at reducing these inequities. Closely connected to the equality aspect is the liberal tenet of rationalism which argues that human beings havethe capacity to think logically and reasonably. Logic and reason, therefore, help them solve problems. Further, liberalism political ideology is also pegged on progress as one of its core values. Here, liberals argue that traditions are only worth conserving if they are significant to populations. Otherwise, they should not be retained. Arguably, this is because new thoughts are important since they can advance development in the sciences, societies and the economies (Curren 2006: 452). That is why they propose a liberal economy based on free market promoting fair and equal chances of the competition-free market. Demand and supply market forces interact freely to determine to equilibrium prices and quantities (Dolbeare & Lidman 1985:587). Therefore, for liberals, free market systems creates wealth more easily compared to old-style economic systems, in which participation and occupationof limits were constrained by extensive regulations and preferences. Limited government signifies one that is based on the rule of law. A good example is United States government whose powers constrained by enumerations of the U.S Constitution. Democracy, similarly, exists where the administration is basedon people’s decisions. Arguably, this may happen through direct participation in decision-making or representative elected by people. So, liberalism, as discussed above, views government as a core political containment that besides advocating for equality, endeavors to promote progressive values, and preserve civil liberties or rights. Liberals trust that any public policy, regardless of the type, ought to remain uncensored and that the government has a primary responsibility to ensure that ALL its populations have adequate access to quality education, affordable health care, social safety net programs, and clean environment. Others beliefs closely attached to liberalism, as a political ideology, include workers’ health and safety protections, affirmative action programs, rights to organize a strike, and progressive taxation (Smith 1982:73). Liberalism and Social Welfare Policy Social welfare policy is demarcated as rules, acts, laws, and policy guidelines that aimed at improving the lives of individuals in as a community. These policies are, therefore, primarily based on the notion of Social Welfare Liberalism, as proponents of liberalism tend to contend. According to Zastrow(2010:9), Social Welfare Liberalism holds a significant ground between laissez-faire (unrestrained classical liberalism and other extreme political ideologies, like socialism, that have continuously gained over the years. Liberalism, as an amalgam of active government and individual rights, consists indifferent parts. In this sense, the government is granted three substantial roles to play towards the advancement of the social welfare policy (Irwin, B 2012:15). First, the government has to play the management function by ensuring a completely sustainable economy with the ability to create employment opportunities, encourage growth besides guarding against inflation. That is macroeconomic policy. Second, the government is charged with the responsibility of providing basic goods and services to the needy in the society. In liberals’ perspective, poverty, as asocial challenge, largely results from failures and non-functioning of public and economic institutions charged with the responsibilityfor promoting social welfare in society, and not a personal weakness. Government's third role is to provide adequate protection to the public, especially, from the threats of industrial life. These include addressing such issues as consumer fraud, dangerous products, unemployment, environmental pollution, catastrophic illnesses, natural disasters, and hazards in the workplace. As Rosenwald et al. (2012:140) clarify, the aid in this regard is not just about assisting the destitute in the society;it also includes the affairs of well-off citizens. Further, in regards to social welfare policy, liberalism identifies that people live in societies in which political liberties, limited government, personal property, capitalism, and individualism hold sway (Chin, Hambrick& Treviño 2013:224).As such, each of these tenets is seen to hold specific values and positions of substance in as much as public welfare is concerned.Personal property, for instance, is seen as an individual’s intimate belonging that must be protected. The emphasis lies on the public policy to restrict their usage. Owners, however, should be left free to enjoy the benefits that accrue from the property as long as they do not pose any danger to other people. On the aspect of equality of opportunity and political equality, liberalism ideology presupposes that everybody has the right to equal to equal treatment and fair play. No person is politically or morally above the other. By equalizing opportunity, one member of a society is pitted against the other and opposition is waged against equalizing aftermaths as a policy objective. Digging deep into literature, the aspect of equalizing opportunity is always more associated currently with conservatives than with liberalism, althoughit has for long been founded on the long course of the ancient American. For this reason, liberalism is considered mainstream population to be the overriding ideology of modern world nations (Quadagno & Street 2005:65).The difference in assets, talents, and income endowment, although may be resented or envied in the society, is always part and parcel of social welfare liberalism. However, the underlying prominence, at any rate, is the premise of equality; an equal chance to succeed, one person, one vote, and many others In this regard, the imbalanced wealth distribution goes unimpeded. Undeniably, one of the most vital realities regarding liberalism's conception of social welfare in governance is that its agendas are by taking resources from extremely rich individuals and giving to those who are not well endowed. Wealth distribution today, as confirmed by Chaney and Wincott (2014:768), is near what it was in the 1950s. The United States, for instance, recompenses for its social services from economic growth, through taxes that are levied on all persons within the tax bracket based on their income levels, and by allocating resources within various and not between them. Liberalism also shapes social welfare policy responses by underscoring the fact that personal responsibility and initiatives are important social values. Unlike the famous imprint, that social welfare aspect Liberalism Ideology does not push for attending to each and every person in societyfrom the cradle to the grave (Feldman & Johnston 2014:58). Both the rich and the under-endowed are viewed as equals who should strive for their on their own success. Then public philosophy provides a borderline between suffering, which is a social challenge, and success, which denotes personal achievement. Meaning, everybody ought to be given freedom or a chance for live decently, but manipulating the available opportunities to one’s advantage is a personal decision. Far from the above, liberals also believe in the value free market. The value adds to social welfare policy in a number of ways. For instance, through this value market is seen as the pinnacle of an economy. Businesses and labor opportunity epitomize the cooperation and unity that a state has to embrace to meet social challenges like foreign competition. Application of Liberal Values in Policy response As discussed earlier, liberalism as a political ideology rides on series of values that serve as it tenets. The previous sections of this paper primarily focused on these values, their argumentations in support of liberalism, and their role in shaping policy responses. In this section, the emphasis is placed on the application of these liberal values in societies to support social welfare policy responses. Different areas including taxation and cultural diversity are illuminated. In taxes charged in different, liberal values are employed through the introduction of progressive taxation. In this type of tax system, higher income earners are likely to pay more taxes than the lower income earners (Dolbeare & Lidman 1985:581). The system is believed to a fair tax policy that facilitates equitable distribution of tax liability among the citizens. Amounts of taxes assessable business profits and income are founded on an increasing or progressive tax rate schedule. Examples of progressive tax rate include marginal tax rates and estate tax rate. Comparatively, marginal tax rates are always greater the average tax rates that citizens usually pay. Likewise, estate taxes being progressive in nature places more tax burden on wealthy lots in the nation (Dolbeare & Lidman 1985:581). Therefore, as much as this system may be favorable to those who not well endowed, it impedes development as people argue that will only result in them paying huge amounts in taxes. Apart from taxation, liberal values are applied in culturally diverse societies that are similarly sensitive to social welfare. Liberalism argues that nobody is better than the other, and such equal treatment is highly advised. Cultural discrimination is therefore not encouraged in culturally diverse liberal nations. The government endeavors to provide for all its citizens regardless of their cultural affiliation or recognition. Arguably, this is what is expected when it comes to distribution of resources, provision of security, and basics. According to Rosenwald et al. (2012:156), a culturally sensitive nation is likely to grow and develop rapidly as it homes a wide range of talents, skills, and opportunities. Liberal values also play a major role in determining governments’ control. As mentioned earlier liberals believe in limited government that is based on the rule of law. As such, the government’s control is constrained by legal provisions. In every sensitive decision, therefore, the law becomes an important frame of reference, providing guidance, principles, and bases of the decision. Therefore, in such decisions, the government only acts when the purported line of action agrees with legal requirements of in that area (Brenner & Cohen 2016:333). One would ask where these legal provisions originate. One simple answer is that liberalism is based on democratic governance in which the voice of the people is superior. Laws are, therefore, coined from those actions, propositions, incidents, events, functions, and activities that are in the best interest of the society in general. Innovation and progress are importantelements of development in a country. As Curren, (2006:466) argues, for a country to be fully capable of providing for its population, development is a substantial ingredient as it leads to creation and distribution of more resources in the society. Through the value of “progress,” liberal states are able to achieve required levels of development that has for long seen them provide for the needs of their citizens. Unlike conservatism, liberalism is of the idea that progress is a must, and tradition should not be conserved unless they are helpful to the society. Conclusion Political ideologies are propositions on ways of organizing and governing societies. Liberalism, Anarchism, socialism, absolutism, and conservatism are some of the prominent political ideologies. The paper examines liberalism ideology, its key values, and role in shaping social welfare public policy responses. As had been established, progress, individualism, equity, personal liberty, and democracy are some of the key values liberalism. Social welfare policy decisions aimed at the improvement of livelihood of citizens. This is achieved through government provisions specific goods and services to its citizens. Guidelines and rules are, therefore, necessary to ensure effectiveness in provisions of the said goods and services. Liberal values act as aframe of reference for drafting, implementing and practicing social welfare public policy. References Brenner, D, & Cohen, 2016, 'Ideology and Strategy among Politicians: The Case of Judicial Independence,' Review Of Law & Economics, 12, 2, pp. 333-375, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017 Chaney, P, & Wincott, D 2014, 'Envisioning the Third Sector's Welfare Role: Critical Discourse Analysis of 'Post-Devolution' Public Policy in the UK 1998-2012', Social Policy & Administration, 48, 7, pp. 757-781, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Chebankova, E 2015, 'Competing Ideologies of Russia's Civil Society,' Europe-Asia Studies, 67, 2, pp. 244-268, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Chin, M, Hambrick, D, & Treviño, L 2013, 'Political Ideologies of CEOs: The Influence of Executives’ Values on Corporate Social Responsibility,' Administrative Science Quarterly, 58, 2, pp. 197-232, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Curren, R 2006, 'DEVELOPMENTAL LIBERALISM,' Educational Theory, 56, 4, pp. 451-468, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Dolbeare, K, & Lidman, R 1985, 'Ideology and policy research: the case of Murray's losing ground,' Policy Studies Review, 4, 4, pp. 587-594, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Feldman, S, & Johnston, C 2014, 'Understanding the Determinants of Political Ideology: Implications of Structural Complexity,' Political Psychology, 35, 3, pp. 337-358, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Irwin, B 2012, 'The Value of a Communitarian Approach to Public Library Board Governance: Rejecting Current Neoliberal Practice,' Canadian Journal Of Information & Library Sciences, 36, 1/2, pp. 1-15, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017 Leaman, DE 1999, 'Populist Liberalism as Dominant Ideology: Competing Ideas and Democracy in Post-Authoritarian Argentina, 1989-1995', Studies In Comparative International Development, 34, 3, p. 98, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017.DF Mangum, M 2013, 'The Racial Underpinnings of Party Identification and Political Ideology,' Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 94, 5, pp. 1222-1244, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Quadagno, J, & Street, D 2005, 'Ideology and Public Policy: Antistatism in American Welfare State Transformation,' Journal Of Policy History, 17, 1, pp. 52-71, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Rosenwald, M, Weiner, D, Smith-Osborne, A, & Smith, C 2012, 'The place of political diversity within the social work classroom,' Journal Of Social Work Education, 48, 1, pp. 139-158, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Smith, RC 1982, 'LIBERAL IDEOLOGY AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN POSTINDEPENDENCE PERU,' Journal Of International Affairs, 36, 1, p. 73, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 May 2017. Van de Haar, E., 2015. Degrees of Freedom: Liberal Political Philosophy and Ideology. Transaction Publishers. Zastrow, C. (2010). Introduction to social work and social welfare: Empowering people. Belmont, CA, Brooks/Cole Read More

In this regard, therefore, liberalism advocates dynamic public policies aimed at reducing these inequities. Closely connected to the equality aspect is the liberal tenet of rationalism which argues that human beings havethe capacity to think logically and reasonably. Logic and reason, therefore, help them solve problems. Further, liberalism political ideology is also pegged on progress as one of its core values. Here, liberals argue that traditions are only worth conserving if they are significant to populations.

Otherwise, they should not be retained. Arguably, this is because new thoughts are important since they can advance development in the sciences, societies and the economies (Curren 2006: 452). That is why they propose a liberal economy based on free market promoting fair and equal chances of the competition-free market. Demand and supply market forces interact freely to determine to equilibrium prices and quantities (Dolbeare & Lidman 1985:587). Therefore, for liberals, free market systems creates wealth more easily compared to old-style economic systems, in which participation and occupationof limits were constrained by extensive regulations and preferences.

Limited government signifies one that is based on the rule of law. A good example is United States government whose powers constrained by enumerations of the U.S Constitution. Democracy, similarly, exists where the administration is basedon people’s decisions. Arguably, this may happen through direct participation in decision-making or representative elected by people. So, liberalism, as discussed above, views government as a core political containment that besides advocating for equality, endeavors to promote progressive values, and preserve civil liberties or rights.

Liberals trust that any public policy, regardless of the type, ought to remain uncensored and that the government has a primary responsibility to ensure that ALL its populations have adequate access to quality education, affordable health care, social safety net programs, and clean environment. Others beliefs closely attached to liberalism, as a political ideology, include workers’ health and safety protections, affirmative action programs, rights to organize a strike, and progressive taxation (Smith 1982:73).

Liberalism and Social Welfare Policy Social welfare policy is demarcated as rules, acts, laws, and policy guidelines that aimed at improving the lives of individuals in as a community. These policies are, therefore, primarily based on the notion of Social Welfare Liberalism, as proponents of liberalism tend to contend. According to Zastrow(2010:9), Social Welfare Liberalism holds a significant ground between laissez-faire (unrestrained classical liberalism and other extreme political ideologies, like socialism, that have continuously gained over the years.

Liberalism, as an amalgam of active government and individual rights, consists indifferent parts. In this sense, the government is granted three substantial roles to play towards the advancement of the social welfare policy (Irwin, B 2012:15). First, the government has to play the management function by ensuring a completely sustainable economy with the ability to create employment opportunities, encourage growth besides guarding against inflation. That is macroeconomic policy. Second, the government is charged with the responsibility of providing basic goods and services to the needy in the society.

In liberals’ perspective, poverty, as asocial challenge, largely results from failures and non-functioning of public and economic institutions charged with the responsibilityfor promoting social welfare in society, and not a personal weakness. Government's third role is to provide adequate protection to the public, especially, from the threats of industrial life. These include addressing such issues as consumer fraud, dangerous products, unemployment, environmental pollution, catastrophic illnesses, natural disasters, and hazards in the workplace.

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