Political Ideologies and the Harlem Article

This paper will define the four basic political ideologies and their application to a social problem. An analysis of the “Harlem Article” using two political perspectives, including the ascribed viewpoints of the federal and local government, causes of the problem, strategies to remedy the problem and core values that are in alignment with the solution.

There are four basic ideologies or political perspectives; these are the Conservative, Libertarian, Liberal, and Radical ideologies. These varied perspectives are defined and expressed in the following ways:

Conservative Ideology

The conservative ideology is more closely aligned with individualism than with collectivism, and sees individual responsibility, as well as individual rights as inherent in the human condition. The right to decide for oneself is of the greatest importance, as against being decided for by the group. The conservative is interested in self-regulation, so government is best left small, with the sole purposes being to ensure individuals do not impinge on the rights of others. Beyond that, government should not interfere in the lives of the people. The conservative viewpoint trusts local government to a greater extent than the federal, and contends that local government is best equipped to care for local affairs, and understands local needs; it should therefore distribute capital and other social supports, not the federal government, which is too remote from local realities to decide what is best or most prudent.

Conservatives are relatively negative in their viewpoint of human nature, especially the poor. Conservatism contends that the “haves” are endowed with wealth because they are good, and the “have-nots” are without because they are the undeserving poor. The values of the larger, dominant social group define the values of the society, and people with different values are classified as deviant and in the minority. Some basic hallmarks of conservatism are that smaller government...