Political Theory of Absolutism

Absolutism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was a political theory suited to the absolutist
monarchies which had been coming into existence since the Reformation. As a theory, perhaps best personified
in the work of Hobbes, absolutism justifies the absolute and organic rule of all aspects of society through a
monarchy. It is a doctrine of the absolute right of the ruler; in other words, the affirmation that the ruler is not
bound by any kind of moral or legal limitation. Instead, the philosophy of absolutism rested heavily upon
conceptions of natural law--an interpretation of right and wrong based on a belief in the absolute Truths inherent
in nature. One of these absolute Truths of natural law would later become known as the "divine right of kings,"
a belief that the monarchy is the natural order of society and thus stands above all human conceptions of
morality or law.1

Political thinkers of Absolutism

1. Baron de Montesquieu
2. Voltaire
3. Thomas Hobbes
4. Denis Diderot
5. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
6. Mary Wollstonecraft
7. Adam Smith
8. John Locke

Anarchism

Anarchism is greatly misunderstood in the English-speaking world where, due to a successful and long-standing
propaganda campaign by the wealthy and their servants, anarchism is equated with irrational violence,
terrorism, lawlessness, and the misdefinition of the word 'anarchy' to make it synonymous with 'chaos'. But
anyone who knows Greek will know that 'anarchy' means 'no rulers'; so, an anarchist society is a society without
rulers, not a chaotic society. Hierarchical order imposed from above is not the only kind of order, as anyone who
believes in democracy would readily admit, for there can also be non-hierarchical order that arises from co-
operation between people. A similar idea was held by the liberal John Locke, who said that social order would
remain intact even if political order were to be dissolved, for individuals are able to organize themselves for
mutual aid without the need of an authoritarian structure. The recent science of 'chaos theory' (which is badly
named) has discovered a similar tendency in nature - the ability of systems of order to arise from chaos due to
an internal principle of self-organization, in the absence of an external (physical) influence. 2

Aristocracy

WE have here two quite distinct moral persons, the government and the Sovereign, and in consequence two
general wills, one general in relation to all the citizens, the other only for the members of the administration.
Thus, although the government may regulate its internal policy as it pleases, it can never speak to the people
save in the name of the Sovereign, that is, of the people itself, a fact which must not be forgotten.

The first societies governed themselves aristocratically. The heads of families took counsel together on public
affairs. The young bowed without question to the authority of experience. Hence such names as priests, elders,
senate, and gerontes. The savages of North America govern themselves in this way even now, and their
government is admirable.

But, in proportion as artificial inequality produced by institutions became predominant over natural inequality,
riches or power 1 were put before age, and aristocracy became elective. Finally, the transmission of the father’s
power along with his goods to his children, by creating patrician families, made government hereditary, and
there came to be senators of twenty.

There are then three sorts of aristocracy—natural, elective and hereditary. The first is only for simple peoples;
the third is the worst of all governments; the second is the best, and is aristocracy properly so called. 3

Autocracy

The central principle of autocracy is the inviolability of autocratic rule. In geographical terms, this means the
inviolability of the autocratically ruled geographical territory, and, if the legitimacy of neighboring regimes is
recognized, the inviolability of the neighboring regime’s territory. This was concisely expressed by Mullah

1 https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1692165.html
2 http://www.spunk.org/texts/misc/sp001168.txt
3 http://www.bartleby.com/168/305.html
Mohammed Omar such that, “The Islamic Emirate does not intend to interfere in the internal affairs of others
nor allow others to interfere in its internal affairs.” The same idea has been repeatedly expressed by every nation-
state that resists political “interference” in “internal” matters. The idea here is that the autocratic regime
possesses absolute autonomy within its own territory, including the power of life and death over its citizens, and
acknowledges a parallel autonomy to hold for other regimes in other territories. 4

Capitalism

Capitalism is a social system based on the principle of individual rights. Politically, it is the system of laissez-faire
(freedom). Legally it is a system of objective laws (rule of law as opposed to rule of man). Economically, when
such freedom is applied to the sphere of production its result is the free-market.5

Capitalism is the the economic and social system (and also the mode of production) in which the means of
production are predominantly privately owned and operated for profit, and distribution and exchange is in a
mainly market economy. It is usually considered to involve the right of individuals and corporations to trade
(using money) in goods, services, labour and land.

Some form of Capitalism has been dominant in the Western world since the end of feudalism in the Middle Ages,
and has provided the main, although not exclusive, means of industrialization throughout much of the world.
Its rise to prominence sprang out of the mercantilism of the 16th to the 18th Centuries, and followed the rise of
Liberalism and laissez-faire economics in western society. The capitalist mode of production, however, may exist
within societies with differing state systems (e.g. liberal democracy, fascism) and different social structures.

In Marxist terms, the owners of capital are the dominant capitalist class (or bourgeoisie), and the working class
(or proletariat) who do not own capital must live by selling their labour power in exchange for a wage. Thus,
according to Karl Marx, Capitalism is based on the exploitation of workers by the owners of capital, and under
his theory of historical materialism, represents just one of the stages in the evolution of a society which would
be overthown as the workers gain class consciousness and take control over the state.6

Communism

The political theory of socialism, which gave rise to communism, had been around for hundreds of years by the
time a German philosopher named Karl Marx put pen to paper. Marx, also known as the father of communism,
spent most of his life in exile in Great Britain and France. He wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848, which later
served as the inspiration for the formation of the Communist Party. Communism is also known as "Marxism."

Marx believed that a truly utopian society must be classless and stateless. (It should be noted that Marx died
well before any of his theories were put to the test.) Marx's main idea was simple: Free the lower class from
poverty and give the poor a fighting chance. How he believed it should be accomplished, however, was another
story. In order to liberate the lower class, Marx believed that the government would have to control all means
of production so that no one could outdo anyone else by making more money. Unfortunately, that proves to
this day to be more difficult than he might have realized.7

Communism is the doctrine of the conditions of the liberation of the proletariat.

The proletariat is that class in society which lives entirely from the sale of its labor and does not draw profit
from any kind of capital; whose weal and woe, whose life and death, whose sole existence depends on the
demand for labor – hence, on the changing state of business, on the vagaries of unbridled competition. The
proletariat, or the class of proletarians, is, in a word, the working class of the 19th century.8

Conservatism

Ten Conservative Principles

1. The conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order. That order is made for man, and
man is made for it: human nature is a constant, and moral truths are permanent.
2. the conservative adheres to custom, convention, and continuity. It is old custom that enables people to
live together peaceably; the destroyers of custom demolish more than they know or desire. It is through
convention—a word much abused in our time—that we contrive to avoid perpetual disputes about

4
https://geopolicraticus.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/the-principle-of-autocracy-and-spheres-of-influence/
5 http://capitalism.org/
6 http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_capitalism.html
7 http://people.howstuffworks.com/communism1.htm
8 https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm
 rights and duties: law at base is a body of conventions. Continuity is the means of linking generation to
generation; it matters as much for society as it does for the individual; without it, life is meaningless.
When successful revolutionaries have effaced old customs, derided old conventions, and broken the
continuity of social institutions—why, presently they discover the necessity of establishing fresh
customs, conventions, and continuity; but that process is painful and slow; and the new social order
that eventually emerges may be much inferior to the old order that radicals overthrew in their zeal for
the Earthly Paradise.
3. conservatives believe in what may be called the principle of prescription. Conservatives sense that
modern people are dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, able to see farther than their ancestors only
because of the great stature of those who have preceded us in time. Therefore conservatives very often
emphasize the importance of prescription—that is, of things established by immemorial usage, so that
the mind of man runneth not to the contrary.
4. conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence. Burke agrees with Plato that in the statesman,
prudence is chief among virtues. Any public measure ought to be judged by its probable long-run
consequences, not merely by temporary advantage or popularity. Liberals and radicals, the conservative
says, are imprudent: for they dash at their objectives without giving much heed to the risk of new abuses
worse than the evils they hope to sweep away. As John Randolph of Roanoke put it, Providence moves
slowly, but the devil always hurries. Human society being complex, remedies cannot be simple if they
are to be efficacious.
5. conservatives pay attention to the principle of variety. They feel affection for the proliferating intricacy
of long-established social institutions and modes of life, as distinguished from the narrowing uniformity
and deadening egalitarianism of radical systems. For the preservation of a healthy diversity in any
civilization, there must survive orders and classes, differences in material condition, and many sorts of
inequality. The only true forms of equality are equality at the Last Judgment and equality before a just
court of law; all other attempts at levelling must lead, at best, to social stagnation. Society requires
honest and able leadership; and if natural and institutional differences are destroyed, presently some
tyrant or host of squalid oligarchs will create new forms of inequality.
6. conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability. Human nature suffers irremediably
from certain grave faults, the conservatives know. Man being imperfect, no perfect social order ever
can be created. Because of human restlessness, mankind would grow rebellious under any utopian
domination, and would break out once more in violent discontent—or else expire of boredom. To seek
for utopia is to end in disaster, the conservative says: we are not made for perfect things.
7. conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked. Separate property from
private possession, and Leviathan becomes master of all. Upon the foundation of private property,
great civilizations are built. The more widespread is the possession of private property, the more stable
and productive is a commonwealth. Economic levelling, conservatives maintain, is not economic
progress. Getting and spending are not the chief aims of human existence; but a sound economic basis
for the person, the family, and the commonwealth is much to be desired.
8. conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism. Although
Americans have been attached strongly to privacy and private rights, they also have been a people
conspicuous for a successful spirit of community. In a genuine community, the decisions most directly
affecting the lives of citizens are made locally and voluntarily. Some of these functions are carried out
by local political bodies, others by private associations: so long as they are kept local, and are marked
by the general agreement of those affected, they constitute healthy community. But when these
functions pass by default or usurpation to centralized authority, then community is in serious danger.
Whatever is beneficent and prudent in modern democracy is made possible through cooperative
volition. If, then, in the name of an abstract Democracy, the functions of community are transferred to
distant political direction—why, real government by the consent of the governed gives way to a
standardizing process hostile to freedom and human dignity.
9. the conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions.
Politically speaking, power is the ability to do as one likes, regardless of the wills of one’s fellows. A state
in which an individual or a small group are able to dominate the wills of their fellows without check is a
despotism, whether it is called monarchical or aristocratic or democratic. When every person claims to
be a power unto himself, then society falls into anarchy. Anarchy never lasts long, being intolerable for
everyone, and contrary to the ineluctable fact that some persons are more strong and more clever than
their neighbors. To anarchy there succeeds tyranny or oligarchy, in which power is monopolized by a
very few.

The conservative endeavors to so limit and balance political power that anarchy or tyranny may not
arise. In every age, nevertheless, men and women are tempted to overthrow the limitations upon
power, for the sake of some fancied temporary advantage. It is characteristic of the radical that he
thinks of power as a force for good—so long as the power falls into his hands.
10. the thinking conservative understands that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled
in a vigorous society. The conservative is not opposed to social improvement, although he doubts
 whether there is any such force as a mystical Progress, with a Roman P, at work in the world. When a
society is progressing in some respects, usually it is declining in other respects. The conservative knows
that any healthy society is influenced by two forces, which Samuel Taylor Coleridge called its
Permanence and its Progression. The Permanence of a society is formed by those enduring interests
and convictions that gives us stability and continuity; without that Permanence, the fountains of the
great deep are broken up, society slipping into anarchy. The Progression in a society is that spirit and
that body of talents which urge us on to prudent reform and improvement; without that Progression, a
people stagnate.
- reconcile the claims of Permanence and the claims of Progression. He thinks that the liberal and
the radical, blind to the just claims of Permanence, would endanger the heritage bequeathed to us,
in an endeavor to hurry us into some dubious Terrestrial Paradise. The conservative, in short, favors
reasoned and temperate progress; he is opposed to the cult of Progress, whose votaries believe that
everything new necessarily is superior to everything old. 9

Democracy

Democracy comes from the Greek word, "demos," meaning people. In democracies, it is the people who hold
sovereign power over legislator and government.

- power and civic responsibility are exercised by all citizens, directly or through their freely elected
representatives.
- set of principles and practices that protect human freedom; it is the institutionalization of freedom.
- principles of majority rule, coupled with individual and minority rights. All democracies, while
respecting the will of the majority, zealously protect the fundamental rights of individuals and
minority groups.
- guard against all-powerful central governments and decentralize government to regional and local
levels, understanding that local government must be as accessible and responsive to the people as
possible.
- prime functions is to protect such basic human rights as freedom of speech and religion; the right
to equal protection under law; and the opportunity to organize and participate fully in the political,
economic, and cultural life of society.
- conduct regular free and fair elections open to all citizens. Elections in a democracy cannot be
facades that dictators or a single party hide behind, but authentic competitions for the support of
the people.
- subjects governments to the rule of law and ensures that all citizens receive equal protection under
the law and that their rights are protected by the legal system.
- are diverse, reflecting each nation's unique political, social, and cultural life. Democracies rest upon
fundamental principles, not uniform practices.
- Citizens in a democracy not only have rights, they have the responsibility to participate in the
political system that, in turn, protects their rights and freedoms.
- Democratic societies are committed to the values of tolerance, cooperation, and compromise.
Democracies recognize that reaching consensus requires compromise and that it may not always
be attainable.10
Majority Rule, minority rights;
- the principles of majority rule and the protection of individual and minority rights would seem
contradictory. In fact, however, these principles are twin pillars holding up the very foundation of
what we mean by democratic government.
Civil-military Relations
- Issues of war and peace are the most momentous any nation can face, and at times of crisis, many
nations turn to their military for leadership.
Political Parties
- To preserve and protect individual rights and freedoms, a democratic people must work together
to shape the government of their choosing. And the principal way of doing that is through political
parties.
Citizen Responsibilities
- a democratic government exists to serve the people, but citizens in democracies must also agree
to abide by the rules and obligations by which they are governed. Democracies grant many
freedoms to their citizens including the freedom to dissent and criticize the government.

Citizenship in a democracy requires participation, civility, and even patience.

A Free Press

9 http://www.kirkcenter.org/index.php/detail/ten-conservative-principles/
10 http://www.4uth.gov.ua/usa/english/politics/principl/what.htm
 - the press should operate free from governmental control. Democratic governments do not have
ministries of information to regulate content of newspapers or the activities of journalists;
requirements that journalists be vetted by the state; or force journalists to join government-
controlled unions.

A free press informs the public, holds leaders accountable, and provides a forum for debate of local
and national issues.

Federalism
- When diverse groups of free people – with different languages, religious faiths, or cultural norms –
choose to live under an agreed constitutional framework, they expect a degree of local autonomy
and equal economic and social opportunities. A federal system of government – power shared at
the local, regional, and national levels – empowers elected officials who design and administer
policies tailored to local and regional needs. They work in partnership with a national government
and with each other to solve the many problems the nation faces.

Rule of Law
- For much of human history, rulers and law were synonymous – law was simply the will of the ruler.
A first step away from such tyranny was the notion of rule by law, including the notion that even a
ruler is under the law and should rule by virtue of legal means. Democracies went further by
establishing the rule of law. Although no society or government system is problem-free, rule of law
protects fundamental political, social, and economic rights and reminds us that tyranny and
lawlessness are not the only alternatives.

Human Rights
- All human beings are born with inalienable rights. These human rights empower people to pursue
lives of dignity – thus, no government can bestow them but all governments should protect them.
Freedom, built on a foundation of justice, tolerance, dignity, and respect – regardless of ethnicity,
religion, political association, or social standing – allows people to pursue these fundamental rights.
Human rights are interdependent and indivisible; they encompass myriad facets of human existence
including social, political, and economic issues.

Executive Power
- Leaders of democratic governments govern with the consent of their citizens. Such leaders are
powerful not because they command armies or economic wealth, but because they respect the
limits placed on them by the electorate in a free and fair election.

Legislative Power
- Elected representatives in a democracy – whether members of a parliament, assembly, or Congress
– are there to serve the people. They perform a number of roles essential to the functioning of a
healthy democracy.

Independent Judiciary
- Independent and professional judges are the foundation of a fair, impartial, and constitutionally
guaranteed system of courts of law known as the judiciary. This independence does not imply
judges can make decisions based on personal preferences but rather that they are free to make
lawful decisions – even if those decisions contradict the government or powerful parties involved
in a case.

Constitutionalism
- A written constitution contains the most important laws by which a nation's citizens agree to live,
and it outlines the basic structure of their government. Thus, democratic constitutionalism – based
on ideals of individual freedom, community rights, and limited government power – creates the
framework for governing a democracy.

Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of speech and expression, especially about political and other public issues, is the lifeblood
of any democracy. Democratic governments do not control the content of most written and verbal
speech. Thus, democracies are usually filled with many voices expressing different or even contrary
ideas and opinions.

Government Accountability
- Government accountability means that public officials – elected and un-elected – have an obligation
to explain their decisions and actions to the citizens.
Free and Fair Elections
- Free and fair elections allow people living in a representative democracy to determine the political
makeup and future policy direction of their nation's government.

Freedom of Religion
- All citizens should be free to follow their conscience in matters of religious faith. Freedom of religion
includes the right to worship alone or with others, in public or private, and to participate in religious
observance, practice, and teaching without fear of persecution from government or other groups
in society.

Rights of Women and Girls

Governing by Coalition and Compromise

Role of Non-government Organizations

Education and Democracy11

What Are the Drawbacks of a Democracy?

Many would argue that the very thing that gives a democracy its greatest strength, might also become its biggest
weakness: the people. An often-cited fear is that if the population is ignorant of certain issues, or just generally
not well educated, they may make errors when casting votes. If they do not fully understand the implications of
their votes, it could allow for an unscrupulous person to gain power, and thus, begin to reverse some of the
inherent freedoms in a democracy.

Democracy is also remarkably inefficient and slow. When it comes to change, there must be votes on the matter,
and the voting process can take quite some time.12

Dictatorship

1. In a dictatorship, there is one party and one leader;

2. In a dictatorship, you are not free to speak your mind;
3. Most dictators (leaders of a dictatorship) adore their countries;
4. Most dictators emphasize war in their country;
5. In a dictatorship, the country is entirely controlled by the leader (the dictator);
6. Most dictators try to convince their country that they (the people) are supreme to all other countries. 13

Egalitarianism

The term is derived from the French word "égal", meaning "equal" or "level", and was first used in English in the
1880s, although the equivalent term "equalitarian" dates from the late 18th Century.

- a political doctrine that expresses the idea “that all people should be treated as equals from birth,
usually meaning held equal under the law and in society at large.” It is a belief in human equality,
especially with respect to social, political and economic rights and privileges, and advocates the
removal of inequalities among people and of discrimination (on grounds such as race, gender,
sexual orientation, religion, etc).14

Fascism
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain),
Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes.
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
4. Supremacy of the Military
5. Rampant Sexism
6. Controlled Mass Media
7. Obsession with National Security
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined

11 http://asmarino.com/articles/1442-principles-of-democracy
12 https://blog.udemy.com/democracy-vs-dictatorship/
13 http://dictatorship6i.weebly.com/principles.html
14 http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_egalitarianism.html
 9. Corporate Power is Protected
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
14. Fraudulent Elections15

The basic idea of fascism is that there is strength in unity. When all the people in a society have the same ideas
and the same values, the society will be stronger than a society in which there is a diversity of opinions and
values.16

Imperialism

Colonialism/Imperialism: The simple way to distinguish these two is to think of colonialism as practice and
imperialism as the idea driving the practice. Colonialism is the implanting of settlements on a distant territory.
Colonialism in its modern form first began to take shape about 400 years ago, and it changed the economic
landscape of the world forever. For one thing, it enabled Europe to get fabulously rich on the trade it produced.
The foundations of what we now think of as free-market capitalism were invented during the colonial era, partly
to handle trade.17

Lenin's Theory of Imperialism:

Lenin theorized that these two developments were intrinsically linked. The concentration of capital created
inequality. Inequality in the core constrained aggregate demand levels. The general population could not absorb
the mass of commodities achieved by higher levels of productive capacity. Insufficient demand created continual
realization crises. The price of raw materials threatened profits further. The falling rate of profit required
economic expansion to open up new regions for investment, sources of raw materials, and new consumer
markets.18

Liberalism

Liberalism as a worldview subscribes to the belief that humans are essentially good, concern for the welfare
of others brings about progress, war is not an inevitable state and violence done to others is the fault of evil
institutions rather than a symptom of a flawed human race. Liberalism's international view considers war a
global problem that requires a collective solution in which societies restructure themselves and dismantle the
institutions that are likely to cause wars. In its societal outlook, liberalism generally favors civil rights, personal
freedoms, free trade, private property and fair elections. 19

Marxism

The Basic Principles of Marxism

- Opposition to an economic system based on inequality and on the alienation and exploitation of
the majority (by means of the system of wage labor), a system whose purpose is to obtain profits
for some people rather than satisfying the needs of all.
- The emancipation of the workers must be the task of the workers themselves.”
- The knowledge and analysis of History (the materialist conception of history).
- The recognition of the existence of social classes that divide men and women into distinct segments
of the population; the recognition of the profound inequalities and injustices that separate these
classes; and the recognition that as long as society is divided into classes, there will be conflicts
between these classes (the class struggle).
- The free exercise of the critical spirit.20

Maoism
Maoism is first and foremost a utopian vision. Throughout Mao's political career, he fought for the ideal of
universal justice and equality "all under heaven." This vision derived at one level from Mao's Sinification of Karl
Marx's concept of a communist society, yet it was also compatible with the age-old Confucian ideal of a "society
of great harmony." Despite the vision's central position in Mao's conceptual realm, Mao was never able to define
clearly the path and the means by which it would be turned into reality.

15 http://www.rense.com/general37/fascism.htm
16
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-basic-principals-fasicism-347009
17 http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/eng-11-globalization.htm
18 http://www.marxmail.org/archives/June99/lenins_theory_of_imperialism.htm
19 https://www.reference.com/government-politics/main-principles-liberalism-cc25ec50917c203c#
20 https://libcom.org/library/basic-principles-marxism-critique-sociale
Mao Political Ideology
- Mao's perception of revolution was characterized by a unique notion of permanentness in time and
unlimitedness in space.
- Mao's perception of revolution reflected the profoundly voluntaristic belief that human
consciousness, rather than the material conditions of society, would determine the orientation of
historical development.
- Maoist notion of revolution put greater emphasis on destruction than on construction.21

Monarchy
Laws mean, laws are not respected instead a country is governed with absolute power. The role that citizens
have all depends on who the monarch is and how that person rules the citizens.

Problems get solved faster because it does not have to go through several people.22

Nationalism

It is a political belief that a nation is the fundamental unit for human social life, and takes precedence over any
other social and political principles. Nationalism typically makes certain political claims based upon this belief:
above all, the claim that the nation is the only fully legitimate basis for a state, that each nation is entitled to its
own state, and that the borders of the state should be congruent with the borders of the nation. 23

Oligarchy
1. Reduce Democray
2. Shape Ideology
3. Redesign the Economy
4. Shift the Burden
5. Attach Solidarity
6. Run the Regulators
7. Engineer Elections
8. Keep the Rabble in the Line
9. Manufacture Consent
10. Marginalize the Population
11. Dump Massive Funding into Militarism24

Populism
1. Cut the biggest Wall Street banks down to a size where they’re no longer too big to fail.
2. Resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act.
3. End corporate welfare.
4. Stop the National Security Agency from spying on Americans.
5. Scale back American interventions overseas.
6. Oppose trade agreements crafted by big corporations.25

Socialism

True socialists advocate a completely classless society, where the government controls all means of production
and distribution of goods. Socialists believe this control is necessary to eliminate competition among the people
and put everyone on a level playing field. Socialism is also characterized by the absence of private property. The
idea is that if everyone works, everyone will reap the same benefits and prosper equally. Therefore, everyone
receives equal earnings, medical care and other necessities.26

Theocracy

It is a form of government that recognizes a deity as a civil ruler; official policies are implemented and carried
out by officials considered guided by the divine. Theocratic governments are generally monopolized by single
religious groups or organizations who rule over their citizens using primarily dictatorial methods of government.

21 http://science.jrank.org/pages/10058/Maoism-Essential-Features.html
22
https://prezi.com/kyoatxogq15d/monarchy-government/
23 http://cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/n/Nationalism.htm
24 http://newdealprogressives.org/blog/2016/03/02/11-principles-of-oligarchy/
25 https://ourfuture.org/20140507/the-6-principles-of-the-new-populism-and-the-establishments-nightmare
26 http://money.howstuffworks.com/socialism1.htm
In theocratic governments, chosen leaders are believed to have a direct personal relationship or close
connection with a divine body. In some instances, they are considered appointees of the god or gods themselves
whose sole purpose on Earth is to convey the messages and directions of their divine descendants. 27

Totalitarianism

- Totalitarian societies are characterized by a single party political system. Party membership is
limited to those who are willing to be unquestionably loyal to party leaders. Party interests and
control encompass all aspects of society.
- Totalitarian states tend to fall to the control of single leaders. These leaders are then made out to
be almost superhuman
- Totalitarian regimes are characterized by a commitment to a specific ideology. The ideology serves
the state by defining the past, explaining the present, and predicting the future. It establishes
guidelines for remolding society in the image held by the rulers.
- Totalitarian societies seek to subordinate all social institutions to the control of the state and
thereby remove all possible challengers to its control. No human activity is without interest to
totalitarian rulers. To control the behavior of their citizens, totalitarian regimes recognize no limits
to the means by which their ends are achieved.
- Totalitarian states attempt-and succeed to a degree- to direct the behavior and thoughts of their
citizens by maintaining control over all sources of information.
- Totalitarian regimes seek to force conformity on their citizens and subordinate all human activity to
their control.
- Totalitarian states will use any techniques- physical or psychological to achieve absolute control
over society.
- The type of totalitarianism which develops in a country is conditioned primarily by the nation's
unique historical experience.
- Totalitarianism is a political, social, and economic system which uses any means available to subject
the individual to the goals and leadership of the state.
- All societies cope with the problem of individual freedom versus public control. No contemporary
society can be judged to be either completely free or completely totalitarian. 28

Trotskyism
- Support for the strategy of permanent revolution, in opposition to the Two Stage Theory of his
opponents;
- Criticism of the post-1924 leadership of the Soviet Union, analysis of its features and after 1933,
support for political revolution in the Soviet Union and in what Trotskyists term the deformed
workers' states;
- Support for social revolution in the advanced capitalist countries through working class mass
action;
- Support for proletarian internationalism; and
- Use of a 'transitional' programme of demands that bridge between daily struggles of the working
class and the 'maximal' ideas of the socialist transformation of society.29

27 https://www.reference.com/government-politics/characteristics-theocracy-3f994b343b068a67
28 https://quizlet.com/17169650/seven-principles-of-totalitarianism-flash-cards/
29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trotskyism