Political Ideology

page 1

Political Ideology is a “coherent and consistent set of beliefs about who

ought to rule, what principles rulers ought to obey, and what policies rulers ought

to pursue” (Wilson James, Q. 73). If I was to be “consistent” like a political

activist is, in one category of political ideology, it would be the category of the

pure liberal. A pure liberal has strong thoughts on education, marijuana use, and

race relations. Read on to hear more about these political issues.

Liberals feel that the American government needs to spend more money on

educational programs. Education is “any process, either formal or informal, that

shapes the potentialities of the maturing organism” (New Columbia Encyclopedia,

volume 7, 2097). It is a great problem solver of crime, unemployment, and

homelessness. If the American government was to spend more money on

education, a positive outcome would definitely precede that action.

Liberals favor “decriminalizing marijuana use and other ‘victimless crimes’”

(Wilson, James Q. 74). “Much of the prevailing public apprehension about

marijuana may stem from the drug’s effect of inducing introspection and bodily

passivity, which are antipathetic to a culture that values aggressiveness,

achievement, and activity” (New Columbia Encyclopedia, volume 14, 4219). The

American police forces need to focus their attention on crimes with a victim, such

as: murder, physical abuse, and theft. With the increase in the number of middle

class users, there has been a growing acceptance of the view that marijuana should

not be considered in the same class as narcotics and that U.S. marijuana laws

should be relaxed.

page 2

The last topic is race relations. The federal government must take action to

increase hiring opportunities for minorities. This is a problem that tends to be

ignored. “In 1971 Jesse Jackson was arrested at a sit-in held to demand that a

grocery chain hire more blacks” (Wilson, James Q., 316). This is not 1971. The

civil-rights laws must be

strictly enforced. The federal government must also provide compensatory

programs for minorities. These are important issues which liberals are concerned

with.

“When we refer to people as liberals, conservatives, socialists, or radicals,

we are implying that they have a political ideology”, but the majority of citizens

display relatively little ideology in their thinking (Wilson, James Q., 73). My

views on issues such as education, marijuana, and civil rights tend to lean towards

a liberal outlook. The political ideology is very much in the mind of the observer.

1. Wilson, James Q. (2000), American Government, Boston, MA: Houghton

Mifflin Company.

2. The New Illustrated Columbia Encyclopedia (1994), New York, New York:

Rockville House Publishers and Columbia University Press.