Ali’s Ideology Scrapbook

“Consumer spending; a preoccupation with consumer goods and their acquisition and display of things in order to denote status.”

Consumerism only became super popular in the beginning of the 1950s, where fast fashion, along with advertising of absolutely anything was targeted to you either on television, billboards, benches, malls, radios, and local cafes. The free economy was boosting right after The Depression, and the era of the American dream had been the popular style for that specific decade. From there on then, consumerism only became more popular and much more franchised than ever. Consumerism would collide best with a capitalist market and liberal political party due to the fact that consumerism thrives when there are little to no limits on what can be bought and sold and for how much and so on. Although consumerism may seem like heaven on the outside, the inside may prove to be a little disappointing, which may include fluctuation of supply and demand, junk from all the materials and fast production that’s used up. The beauty of consumerism is the art and not necessarily the actual act itself. The display of products to disposal, always new and ready to transition with the ever so elbowing trends in today’s world.  REFERENCE:

“Humanitarians who advocated an end to the appalling conditions of the average worker in the industrial capitalist countries of the 19th century; people who believe it is possible to work to bring about a better world and that obvious evils can be eradicated.”

Similar to Luddism, Utopian Socialists would just be the modern socialists with extra benefits. With the Industrial Revolution at its peak, capitalism is thriving and the rich of the rich are comfortable and relaxed while the majority of workers are slaves to the system and labour 20 hours a day without breaks or safety provided in very dangerous situations. No unions, no minimum wage, no time for anything else except work. In good old fashion Socialist style, many came together to fight for the equality and fair treatment of all workers in the industrial boom. This surprisingly worked! The conflicting views of liaises-faire liberalism and Utopian Socialism made its way into the centre where laws gradually came into place creating minimum wages, age restricted jobs, break times, safety provided along with clothing. 

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“A protest movement of the early 1800s against industrialization and mechanization. Protesters broke into factories and destroyed machines.”

The industrial revolution was an incredible moment in history for the future of humankind and the huge influence on what capitalism is today. In the beginning if the 1830s, machines began to take over the jobs of the Luddites which were working men that had jobs in factories and made a living off of pretty bad money but still preferred that over nothing. So many working men were losing their jobs that they depend on for survival which aggravated the Luddites which in return created Luddism. Important philosophers that supported the Industrial Revolution included Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Malthus, and Robert Owen. Although these men had slightly differing ideas from one another, they all had one thing in common which was liaises-faire ideologies and mindsets. They were influenced by the money and the people under them that could do the work. Luddism took an opposite approach, and they stood to the far left reaching radical sides with favouring rapid change that went against the norms of society, especially for the 1800s. Even though machinery and industrialization itself is very progressive, the methods and ways of distributing that power was very right leaning, causing the British government to rule out new laws and make it illegal to break machinery with it being a capital offence that could be sentenced to death. After 5 years of struggle, the movement didn’t really have a huge impact. 

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“Someone who avoids conscription or compulsory military service, usually by fleeing to another country.”

With over 20 countries having compulsory military service drafts to this date, the big question that raises a huge perspective on warfare and military exposure is that if this is really necessary. War goes against many ideological views and morals to the point that forcefully enlisting them into the military might just do more harm than good. If a collective becomes a draft dodger rather than just a few individuals, what can a higher authoritarian government do? How far can one be pushed into actually doing something they don’t want to do, or more realistically, being pressured or manipulated by society to conform to the norm. The definition “Draft dodger” is singular, meaning that this action isn’t really favoured by many due to the probable high punishments they’d carry upon themselves if caught. Countries that still have a draft usually have outdated systems or have political ideologies that favour the draft. Some countries include Russia which has a communist approach to basically anything, South America which also has a communists political view, North Korea, Israel, etc. In this day of age, I feel like we don’t need outdated systems like this anymore mostly due to the fact that war isn’t a desirable option for many countries and public opinion and information spreads super easily with the internet, leaving much more room for co-operation and negotiation within nations rather than building deadly forces for “what-if” scenarios. 

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“The regions of the Canadian Prairies and the Great Plains of the United States that were devastated by the drought and duets storms of the 1930s.”

During the Great Depression, heavy damaging dust storms rampaged over the prairie lands of the U.S. and Canada. This devastated the agriculture and means of life for the Jewish, Ukrainians, and Mennonites who assimilated close together along with the Aboriginal peoples in the prairies of Canada for refuge and growth. In economic despair, huge dust storms weren’t favoured and caused people and their livestock to die due to high levels of intense winds that swept structures away and carried high amounts of dust particles into the air making it almost impossible to breathe. Now, everything happens for a reason, and these dust bowls couldn’t just have occurred. So, naturally, around 1931, crops started to fail due to the infamous drought across America, and when the crops did die, there was no strong soil to keep the roots in the ground, and when high winds took over the plants couldn’t bare the amount of pressure and hence the dust bowl was created. The ways of life for so many individuals were destroyed due to lack of information and skills to conquer crop seasons in America. High amounts of people living on the prairies were refugees and newcomers, so even though liberalism was taken with pride in North America, all these individuals hadn’t taken the time to actually consider whether they were fit for the challenges the land brought along with it.

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“Working together to the same end; a principle emphasized by collectivist ideologies.” 

One of the biggest factors contributing to the rapid spread of Covid-19 in 2020 across the globe was simply due to the lack of communication and co-operation with one another. Every single country struggled tremendously with this disease separately and uniquely, but some definitely handled it better than others. For example, China carries a lot of communist ideologies (kind of the polar opposite with America) and when Covid hit there, lockdowns were mandatory right away! No hesitation, no votes, no parliamentary decision making before any “risky final answers” were going to be for the general public, just simply lockdowns made final. It’s truly magnificent what the world can accomplish when we work together to achieve a certain something. Although each country followed different measures and procedures, when it came to vaccine inventions and rollout, the world created one in less than two years! This gives me definite hope for the world that we can put our differences aside that pull us apart, to come together and act responsibly and civilly to alter the world for the better. If we were to act in such urgency for all matters such as climate change, unjust crimes against humanity, food and water waste, and much more, the world would be in a very beautiful place. Almost sounds too good to be true.

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“A school that provides dormitories for its students. As part of Canada’s program for the assimilation of the Aboriginal peoples under the original Indian Act of 1867, Aboriginal children were removed from their communities and housed and taught in church-run residential schools. 

A tragic part of Canada’s history that will hinder the progression of the present for a long time to come simply because the decency to address the seriousness of the Residential School System along with formally and officially apologizing for all the unjust actions of the Pope, simply haven’t been met and still haven’t been. They call it assimilation, I call it genocide and ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, or illegal occupation, racism, greed, prejudice and much more awful words. More than a thousand children were found dead underneath the soil we call home, more than one hundred and fifty thousand kids aged 4 to 16 suffered through these schooling systems and their families continue to feel the pain by intergenerational trauma carried on with these poor souls. All to push the conformity of British rule over North America and to force ideological perspectives of religion, culture, language, land, onto a foreign society who bared no harm. How do you truly reconcile, when they expect you to forget about the reconciling and just skip to the forgiving and move on. 

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A government system that seeks complete control over the public and private lives of its citizens.”

Often confused with fascism, totalitarianism is a form of power that strives for complete power and control over everything in a particular society while fascism is very right-wing extreme and has complete power but distributes that power unevenly and acts upon mainly in spite of offending anti-regime acts or sayings that may harm such beliefs. A popular quote from the inventor of fascism, Benito Mussolini describes how neutrality and balance within the state must be kept in order for the system to stay intact, “Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.”. Adolf Hitler’s true ideologies and stances stood on the basis of totalitarianism mainly because he used the power of manipulation and fear to gain the trust of the majority in Germany, soon winning over the government party seats, the citizens, the army, and soon all of Germany. The Jewish who didn’t conform with Hitler’s ideas and were seen as outsiders, spy’s, or the imperfect individuals were ultimately eliminated from society as a whole. This type of government is dangerous, and without it, only better can be achieved. 

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“Difference in earnings between the rich and the poor.”

Ever since the 1980s, the gap between the rich and the poor has been growing larger across Canada, causing greater divides in society, inequality for access to goods and services, and simply putting it as pulling a string attached on a few threads holding the rest of society up while the rich rest peacefully at the top of the cliff side. Many things have occurred within the years of this great divide growing, including the recession in 2008, bitcoin surges in 2011 to 2014, and then Covid-19 in 2020, causing high inflation rates raising everything to ridiculously high prices and firing a bunch of individuals due to low shortage of income from businesses. While the chaos of reality storms down on the majority of individuals who basically keep society moving forward in a healthy pattern, the rich only seem to get richer while the poor get poorer. How is this possible? How is it possible for billionaires to pay zero dollars in taxes to the government while an individual who makes fifteen thousand dollars a year owes authorities half their income? Sure, these wealthy few worked hard to where they have gotten, but I sometimes just find it hard to believe that while one person is relaxing with one billion dollars in their bank account, billions of people around the world are starving, malnourished, dehydrated, uneducated, un sheltered, naked, cold, and praying to wake up another day. So yes, the richer get richer while the pooper get poorer, but that saying is getting old so let’s find another one to replace it. The image above shows the gap between the average Canadian compared to the top one percent in each major Canadian city. Imagine what this chart would look like if it was comparing poor Canadians with poor Indians or poor Yemenis. The perspectives we take hold strong values and clear ignorance at times when graphs like this are shown to us. Sure, we would be considered poor compared to the top one percent of Canadians, but the real issue lies within the globe and how most likely I am and you are considered filthy rich compared to a whole family in South Africa. That’s true income disparity.

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“Changing the true results of an election by various means, including voter intimidation, multiple voting, destruction of ballots, tampering with ballots, or changing electoral boundaries to change the composition of a riding.”

Voting is a serious privilege that a ton of people can’t participate peacefully in. Election fraud, also known as voter fraud or election rigging, this act can conclude anywhere in the world including the most developed nations. It feels so empowering and liberating to be able to choose to have a say in who you want in power, while also collectively working together in order to achieve one desired outcome. All sorts of ideologies can be slipped into a ballot box and concealed for no one to see except the few who count the anonymous answers to which you may have wrote in. But, just as with many other things, this act can easily be manipulated and abused if not taken seriously be all participants. When greed and selfishness takes over one’s mind, the temptation and urge to rebel and overstep boundaries for the desired perspective and ways of life of a few compared to a majority can lead to real actions if no actual precautionary measures are taken. The photo provided above is a satirical cartoon depicting the voting system of Ukraine. In more in depth detail, ever since Ukraine became independent in 1991, voting was one of the first “liberal” actions put into society for everyone to take part in. But, Ukraine’s history with Russia is far yet to be over, and over the years voting has always been a tricky topic for Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine was funded by Russia for a lot of military weapons and material, while also sharing a border with each other and the long overwhelming history between the two countries that still haven’t been fully addressed all way tension in the air, weighing on the voting system as well. Voting in Ukraine has sort of become a bit of a joke mostly because of all the reasons stated above, hence the clown and how far apart it’s standing away from the supposed filled ballot box. 

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“A strict, legislated system of racial segregation and discrimination against Black and other “coloured” South Africans set in place by the National Party of South Africa from 1948 to 1994.” 

Apartheid. Sometimes a difficult word to pronounce, but arguably even a harder word to describe. In all honesty, I wish it would be as easy to say apartheid was simply the unjust acts of the National Party of South Africa, but it goes beyond the origins from this point in history. Apartheid has been practiced in over multiple countries in the past 50 years including Israel, Canada, and the United States of America. Although most of these acts have been conducted in the past, such as with Aboriginal Peoples in Residential Schools and the African American’s down south of North America, some actions of apartheid still live on as we breathe peacefully today. Apartheid is basically an act of cleansing a certain group of people by heavily controlling them, constricting them from the rest of society, and forcing them to conform to the ideologies of whom enforces those powers. A huge example of this can stem from the ongoing horrific crimes that the State of Israel is allowing on the population of Palestinians in the Middle East first started in 1948 and ongoing to this very day. Israel is continuously committing crimes against humanity, violating ICC and International laws against Palestinians based on their religion, culture, and homeland. Where is the world? Where are the eyes that need to witness such tragedies and act on them before its too late? No one. Instead, the U.S. and Canada are both funding and supporting the illegal occupation and crimes that this supposed “Jewish” state has done to Palestinians. Double standards stem from Russia invading Ukraine and how fast the world reacted to that incident. There is no equal here. Babies are being shot dead on the streets of Gaza, innocent Palestinians run over by Israeli military vehicles, hate crimes. Every. Single. Day. All while trapped by 20 foot cement slabs on all sides. Free Palestine from Apartheid, as this is one of the most major issues that currently face the world today. I told you it wouldn’t be easy to explain.

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“an intense fear of communism that overcame the majority of the American population during and after the Second World War, influencing everything from movies and television to national security”

Between the years of 1919-1920, the American population grew very worried about communists entering the country and having spies carry out missions in disguise in order to achieve either terrorist attacks or gain complete rule over the United States. Propaganda arose when tension between China and the U.S. reached a climax in World War 2, resulting in mass fear from citizens in both countries. Posters such as the one shown above were posted virtually all across borders and reached the public as a whole. People were encouraged to report any suspicious activity to authorities, and when people did falsely report innocent citizens (which was the majority of the time), officers would interrogate them into exhaustion and would make them confess in hopes of just leaving the interrogation room. In conclusion, although many “aliens” were captured and deported from the U.S., many casualties occurred and mass destruction came of which only their infrastructure was ruined. 

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“programs that affect human welfare in a society. Social programs are intended to benefit citizens in areas such as education, health, and income support. Supporters base their support both on humanitarian principles and on economic principles.”

Social programs carry socialist ideologies along with community support and care. In order for social programs to work, a collective needs to take action and continue to support their communities through taxation and similar ways of thinking. Some may reference communism and even socialism into how people are getting robbed from higher authorities to pay fro individuals they don’t even know or care about. In reality, first world countries have the luxury to afford social program services that could potentially help anyone in need, and a lot of people take that for granted. Knowing that everyone is paying the same (if not more) for taxes, it helps allow one to view society as a supportive safe space instead of a money focused capitalist world. It’s very interesting to see how these two worlds clash because Canada and the United States are two perfect examples of capitalism and socialism clashing. Some may call this democracy, others may call it unfair and unjust to the people who work hard and find success through their own struggles. Why should one person have better opportunities to grow and accomplish the tasks even if they don’t want to? Where would all this money go if these social programs don’t turn out how people intended them to? These are all valid issues and conflicting ideologies that play a huge role in determining whether certain social programs exist or not.

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“a form of government where governing authority is vested in the hands of the representatives of the citizens and not a ruling monarch. Generally, a president is the head of state and the head of government.” 

Mainly known for its name in the United States, the word republican comes from the forming of a government which is controlled by the republic or state. A huge division has been brought by the republicans and democrats due to high tensions of differing beliefs and opinions on religious topics, issues and events. When a person speaks of the word, most people would automatically assume Donald Trump, or highly religious individuals who want to push for the removal of abortion, same sex marriage, and more. But, there is more to it than those stereotypes as it goes deeper into the history to which these governments were brought up from. Also known as the GOP, the republic party set out into the public dating back to 1854 filled with farmers, businessmen, factory workers, professionals, and more. Although in the modern day of age, many dislike others who have republican ideologies at hand, the fight for diversity in America still is a struggle for all. Finding inclusion and balance for these two parties can be tough, and it isn’t looking too good for the republicans as of now.  

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“in the Canadian system, a form of representative democracy in which the branch of government that proposes laws, the executive branch of government (the prime minister and the cabinet ministers), is dependent on the direct or indirect support of elected members of the legislative branch (a majority of MPs in the House of Commons)”

Responsible government demonstrates how parts of an authority can work together in order to come to a conclusion, even if one side hasn’t fully agreed. Canada has been built around this government system, and for decades has been run in this fashion due to high amounts of success.To hold the parliament, along with the Prime Minister accountable for actions made on behalf of them with consent from the public play a vital role in assuring safe and reasonable government decisions. Individuals who have lived in Canada have only experienced this type of government, and to a certain extent, this blends with their ideologies in terms of how one has a say, who controls what, and why. The picture above is a stamp configured for the celebration for the Canadian government of a consecutive number of years staying as a Responsible Government.

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“ An ideology that emerged in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s as a reaction against modern liberal principals. Some aspects of neo-conservatism challenge modern liberal principals and favour a return to particular values of classical liberalism. Other neo-conservative ideas challenge both classical and modern liberal principals and favour values identified as “family values” and traditional values, often resting on a religious foundation.”

When the United States began to progress into a more diverse and larger society nearing the decades of 1950s and 60s, a bigger divide grew between conservatives and liberals. This divide was complicated not only because classical liberalism has similar ideologies but also because violence became often common for disputes with the division. With current governments leaning towards liberalist and radical change, the cultural essence for many conservatives only disappears further from society. In the beginning, liberalist thoughts were so outrageous to the majority, it seemed as though if one would call themselves a liberalist they suddenly would be denied the freedom to expression from friends, family, and even strangers. Now in the modern age, it’s almost the opposite. The United States is built up on many cultures, religions and faiths, the image shown above resonated with this definition because, just like the electoral system charts, the puzzle pieces only emphasize the meaning of America building itself on many different beliefs, one of them being neo-conservatism.

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¨A radical form of socialism, often called scientific socialism or communism to distinguish it from other socialist ideologies¨ 

A form of socialism that is very extreme and focuses on historical events which would promote communism over capitalism. This form of socialism was created by Karl Marx who was a German political philosopher in the 19th century that was fascinated by the ideas of communism and valued its reliability and strong foundations which it stood upon. Anything Karl Marx would do it would have to be based on factual evidence carried from past events that represent science, the economy or social interactions/experiments. Marxism was definitely frowned upon at the time due to such radical thought and belief this theory carried, along with the overturn of capitalism which everybody loved and still loves to this day. The photo above shows an image of Karl Marx.

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