World History

POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES IN THE MODERN WORLD

Of the many political ideologies that have arisen since the dawn of human civilization , few have prevailed and survived to the present age The struggle for power among people - from individuals to entire nations has shaped the modern world into what it is today . The world we now live in at present is still rife with tension and conflicts , arising from the inequalities brought about by unjust political and economic systems that have plagued it . These disparities can most clearly be seen when comparing the nations

of the First and the Third World . While some of the most impoverished people in the world starve during famines nations in the First World have been known to stockpile excess food for fear of it driving prices downwards

The common thought among many is that the developed nations of the world have to thank their system of government for their prosperity Thus , there is a worldwide push to make every country 's system democratic . It 's not surprising that many think this way - the developed countries of the world today almost all have democratic forms of government . However , it must be noted that in most of the newly industrialized economies , like the East Asian tigers South Korea Singapore , Taiwan and Hong Kong , there was an authoritarian regime before the democracy that exists today . Singapore and Hong Kong are exceptions in that Singapore is still under an authoritarian regime and Hong Kong always had a democratic form of government under British colonial rule . This doesn 't always mean that dictators are good for the people they govern however . In Latin America , several states were under military juntas or dictatorships until recently , however this has not translated to robust economic growth , and thus far these countries are still considered developing

In the Middle East , the trend has also been for democracy , but because of the predominance of conservative Islam democratization has taken a different path than in the West . In several countries , there is a freely elected parliament or congress , but most of the time their heads of state govern indefinitely . Economies in this region , measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP ) numbers are huge , but still , the money from all the oil doesn 't translate into the comfort and relative ease of life in the West

But what is the best for the people of the world ? Democracy and authoritarianism are two sides of the same coin , in both cases they have people who want to wield control over others , and it just differs in the way they do it . For example , during the period of nationalism in Europe in the middle of the 19th century , the nations of Italy and Germany saw change coming in the form of unifications through authoritarianism . In Italy , the final stroke came as King Victor Emmanuel declared to Parliament The work to which we consecrated our life is accomplished After long trials of expiation Italy is restored to herself and to Rome (Smitha...