Understanding Core Political Systems and Ideologies

Liberalism: Foundations of Freedom

Liberalism is a philosophical system, economic, and political approach that promotes civil liberties and seeks to limit the coercive power of governments over individuals. It opposes any form of despotism and is based on the doctrine of representative government and parliamentary democracy.

Absolutism: Centralized Power

Absolutism is a form of government in which power is vested in a single person, who must be obeyed by all others, without accountability to Parliament or the people.

Democracy: Rule by the People

Democracy is a form of government and state organization in which collective decisions are made by the people through direct or indirect participation mechanisms that confer legitimacy upon their representatives. In a broader sense, democracy represents a form of social coexistence where all inhabitants are free and equal before the law, and social relations are established according to contractual mechanisms.

Socialism: Collective Ownership and Social Equity

Socialism is a political-economic ideology that primarily defends an economic and political system based on the socialization of the means of production, or collectivist administrative control. This control may be non-state (community property) or state (nationalization) and can manifest in democratic or dictatorial forms. Therefore, socialism encompasses an association of ideas, ranging from the pursuit of the common good and social equity to projects of state or socialist interventionism. Definitions of its methods can vary dramatically depending on the interlocutor.

Communism: Classless Society and Abolition of the State

Communism can be understood in different ways, which have changed and diversified throughout history. It is a political movement whose main objectives include:

• The establishment of a society without social classes, based on social ownership of the means of production.
• The abolition of private ownership of these means.
• Bringing the working class to power, with the ultimate aim of abolishing the state and having the working class assume all its functions.

In this classless society, which is an ideal and ultimate goal, the final stage is called communism, while socialism is considered the preceding stage. Finally, there are also non-Marxist doctrines referred to as communist. Fascism, however, is a distinct political ideology.