Liberals scold populists. Greens slag capitalists. Conservatives chide social justice movements. And vice versa. But what does it all mean? In
these disputes, each group cleaves to a set of ideas about politics. These ideas describe how society works; they set standards by which to
judge those workings; they envision the good society; and they tell us how to get there from here. Thus these ideas aim to guide social change.
And they do so by calling their holders to carry them out. So, for instance, when fascists strive against libertarians, they struggle over just these
ideas: which ones should rule? In this course, we study these visions of politics, or what some call “political ideologies.” We therefore aim to
plumb and sound the key ideas of many of the great visions of our time: those named above, and also socialism, anarchism, democracy, and
more. What do their main ideas say? How do they compare with those of other political visions? What do they assume about freedom? Or
human nature? We give students an insider’s view of each ideology. And also the tools to forge their own. (During class, we will not use Internet
devices. Attending and taking part are mandatory.)