Political Sistems

Socialism

It is a system of social organization in which private property and the distribution of income (розподіл доходів) are subject to social control (є предметом громадського контролю); also, the political movements aimed at putting (з метою впровадити) that system into practice. Because “social control” may be interpreted in widely diverging (відрізнятися) ways, socialism ranges from statist (коливається від державницького до) to libertarian, from Marxist to liberal. The term was first used to describe the doctrines (вчення) of Charles Fourier (Шарль Фурье), Henri de Saint-Simon, and Robert Owen, who emphasized noncoercive (примусовий) communities of people working noncompetitively for the spiritual and physical well-being of all (see utopian socialism).

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, seeing socialism as a transition state between capitalism and communism, appropriated (виділяти) what they found useful in socialist movements to develop their “scientific socialism.” In the 20th century, the Soviet Union was the principal model of strictly centralized socialism, while Sweden and Denmark were well-known for their noncommunist socialism.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made ​​a "Socialism of the 21st Century" his political slogan and a political program of socialist  reform in Venezuela. Other socialist states of the XXI century are: Cuba and North Korea.

Communism

It is a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed.

Political theory advocating community ownership of all property, the benefits of which are to be shared by all according to the needs of each. The theory was principally the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Their “Communist Manifesto” (1848) further specified a “dictatorship of the proletariat,” a transitional stage (перехідному етапі) Marx called socialism; communism was the final stage in which not only class division but even the organized state—seen by Marx as inevitably (неминуче) an instrument of oppression (пригноблення) — would be transcended (see Marxism).

That distinction was soon lost, and “communist” began to apply to a specific party rather than a final goal. Vladimir Ilich Lenin maintained that the proletariat needed professional revolutionaries to guide it (see Leninism).

Joseph Stalin's version of communism (see Stalinism) was synonymous to many with totalitarianism.

Mao Zedong mobilized peasants (селяни) rather than an urban proletariat in China's communist revolution (see Maoism).

European communism (see Eurocommunism) lost most of its following with the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991).

Marxism

Ideology and socioeconomic theory developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The fundamental ideology of communism, it holds that all people are entitled (давати право) to enjoy the fruits of their labour but are prevented from doing so in a capitalist economic system, which divides society into two classes: nonowning (які не володіють) workers and nonworking owners. Marx called the resulting situation “alienation,” (відчуження) and he said that when the workers repossessed (повернуто) the fruits of their labour, alienation would be overcome and class divisions would cease [sJs] (припинятися).

The Marxist theory of history posits class struggle as history's driving force, and it sees capitalism as the most recent and most critical historical stage — most critical because at this stage the proletariat will at last arise united.

The failure of the European Revolutions of 1848 and an increasing need to elaborate on Marxist theory, whose orientation is more analytical than practical, led to adaptations such as Leninism and Maoism.

In the late 20th century the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Eastern bloc allies seemed to mark the end of Soviet Marxism as a practical political or economic model. Meanwhile, China adopted many elements of a free-market economy in what it called a development rather than a repudiation (зречення) of Marxist theory. In the West, Marxism continues to be appreciated as a critique of market capitalism (ринковий капіталізм) and a theory of historical change.

Dictatorship

It is a form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique (угруповання).

It is a form of government in which one person or an oligarchy possesses absolute power without effective constitutional checks (конституційні заборони). With constitutional democracy, it is one of the two chief forms of government in use today.

Modern dictators usually use force or fraud (шахрайство) to gain (збільшення) power and then keep it through intimidation (залякування, шантаж), terror, suppression of civil liberties, and control of the mass media.

In 20th-century Latin America, nationalist leaders often achieved power through the military and attempted either to maintain the privileged elite or to institute far-reaching social reform, depending on their class sympathies (уподобання).

In Europe's communist and fascist dictatorships, a charismatic leader of a mass party used an official ideology to maintain his regime, and terror and propaganda to suppress opposition. In postcolonial Africa and Asia, dictators have often retained (зберігати) power by establishing one-party rule after a military takeover.

Сapitalism

Economic system in which most of the means of production are privately owned, and production is guided and income distributed largely through the operation of markets. Capitalism has been dominant in the Western world since the end of mercantilism. It was fostered (сприяти) by the Reformation, which sanctioned hard work and frugality, and by the rise of industry during the Industrial Revolution, especially the English textile industry (16th–18th centuries).

Unlike earlier systems, capitalism used the excess of production over consumption (споживання) to enlarge productive capacity (потужність) rather than investing it in economically unproductive enterprises such as palaces or cathedrals. The strong national states of the mercantilist era provided the social conditions, such as uniform monetary (грошовий) systems and legal codes, necessary for the rise of capitalism. The ideology of classical capitalism was expressed in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776), and Smith's free-market theories were widely adopted in the 19th century. In the 20th century the Great Depression effectively ended laissez-faire (невтручання) economics in most countries, but the demise (передавати владу) of the state-run command economies of eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (see communism) and the adoption of some free-market principles in China left capitalism unrivaled (неперевершений) (if not untroubled) by the beginning of the 21st century.

Variants of CAPITALISM: capitalism or free-market economy or free-enterprise system.

Fascism

Philosophy of government that stresses the primacy and glory of the state, unquestioning obedience (покора) to its leader, subordination of the individual will to the state's authority, and harsh (суворий) suppression of dissent (придушення інакомислення). Martial virtues (військові достоїнства) are celebrated, while liberal and democratic values are disparaged (принижувати).

Fascism arose during the 1920s and '30s partly out of fear of the rising power of the working classes; it differed from contemporary (contemporary) communism (as practiced under Joseph Stalin) by its protection of business and landowning elites and its preservation (збереження) of class systems.

The leaders of the fascist governments of Italy (1922–43), Germany (1933–45), and Spain (1939–75)—Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Francisco Franco—were portrayed to their publics as embodiments (втілення) of the strength and resolve (вирішити) necessary to rescue their nations from political and economic chaos (хаос).

Japanese fascists (1936–45) fostered (сприяти) belief in the uniqueness of the Japanese spirit and taught subordination to the state and personal sacrifice.

Democracy

It is a government in which the supreme power is vested in (покладених на) the people and exercised by them directly (as in some ancient Greek city-states, some New England town meetings, and some cantons (область) in modern Switzerland) or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving (за участю) periodically held free elections.

The concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages and the Enlightenment and in the American and French Revolutions.

Monarchy

Undivided sovereignty (верховна влада) or rule by a single person, who is the permanent (незмінний) head of state.

The term is now used to refer to countries with hereditary (спадковий) sovereigns. The monarch was the ideal head of the new nation-states of the 16th and 17th centuries; his powers were nearly unlimited (see absolutism), though in Britain Parliament was able to restrict (обмежувати) the sovereign's freedom of action, particularly through the Magna Carta (a charter of liberties to which the English barons forced King John to give his assent (згода) in June 1215 at Runnymede, Surrey, England, 20 miles (32 km) west of London) and the Bill of Rights (1689, it is a summary of fundamental rights and privileges guaranteed to a people against violation by the state —used especially of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution).

The old idea that the monarch represented (within the limits (рамки) of his dominions (володіння)) the rule of God over all things culminated in the 17th century in the doctrine of the divine right (божественне право) of kings (see divine kingship), exemplified by Louis XIV. Monarchical absolutism adapted to the Enlightenment by evolving (перетворюється) into “benevolent (великодушний) despotism,” as typified by the rule of Catherine II of Russia. The French Revolution dealt absolute monarchy a crushing blow, and World War I effectively destroyed what remained of it, the rulers of Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary being held responsible for the war and postwar misery (нужденність).

The institution developed into the constitutional monarchy in western Europe, though absolute (or near-absolute) monarchies continue to exist in the Middle East.

Current monarchies

Ø Commonwealth realms (Королівства Співдружності). The sixteen Commonwealth realms (Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize (Белі́з (Belize bɛˈliːz, раніше Британський Гондурас) — країна в Центральній Америці), Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) all share Queen Elizabeth II as monarch in a personal union arrangement.

Ø Other European constitutional monarchies. Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden are fully democratic states in which the monarch has a limited or largely ceremonial role.

Ø European Constitutional/Absolute Monarchies. Liechtenstein and Monaco are constitutional monarchies in which the Prince retains many powers of an absolute monarch. For example the 2003 Constitution referendum which gives the Prince of Liechtenstein the power to veto any law that the Landtag (Ландтаг — місцеві представницькі законодавчі органи, земельний парламент у сучасних німецькомовних державах — Австрія, Ліхтенштейн, ФРН, а також у німецькомовному анклаві Італії Південний Тіроль) proposes and the Landtag can veto any law that the Prince tries to pass.

Ø Islamic monarchies. These Islamic monarchs of Bahrain, Brunei, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates generally retain far more powers than their European or Commonwealth counterparts (колеги).

Ø East Asian constitutional monarchies. Bhutan, Cambodia, Japan, Thailand have constitutional monarchies where the monarch has a limited or ceremonial role.

Ø Other monarchies. Five monarchies do not fit into one of the above groups by virtue of geography or class of monarchy: Tonga and Samoa in Polynesia; Swaziland and Lesotho in Africa; and the Vatican City in Europe. Of these, Lesotho and Tonga are constitutional monarchies, while Swaziland and Vatican City are absolute monarchies.

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter" (Latin: res publica), not the private concern or property of the rulers, and where offices of states are subsequently directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited.

In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch.

Totalitarianism

The political concept that the citizen should be totally subject (підвладний) to an absolute state authority.

The term was coined (цей термін був придуманий) in the early 1920s by Benito Mussolini, but totalitarianism has existed throughout history throughout the world (e.g., Qin dynasty China). It is distinguished from dictatorship and authoritarianism by its supplanting (витіснення) of all political institutions and all old legal and social traditions with new ones to meet the state's needs, which are usually highly focused.

Conservatism

It is the tendency to prefer an existing or traditional situation to change.

Political attitude or ideology denoting (що означають) a preference (перевага) for institutions and practices that have evolved (еволюціонувати) historically and are thus manifestations of continuity (безперервність) and stability.

It was first expressed in the modern era through the works of Edmund Burke in reaction to the French Revolution, which Burke believed tarnished (ганьбити) its ideals through its excesses (непоміркованість).

Conservatives believe that the implementation (реалізація) of change should be minimal and gradual (поступовий); they appreciate history and are more realistic than idealistic.

Well-known conservative parties include the British Conservative Party, the German Christian Democratic Union, the U.S. Republican Party, and the Japanese Liberal-Democratic Party.

Liberalism

Political and economic doctrine that emphasizes the rights and freedoms of the individual and the need to limit the powers of government.

Liberalism originated as a defensive (захисний) reaction to the horrors of the European wars of religion of the 16th century (Thirty Years' War (1618–48)). Its basic ideas were given formal expression in works by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, both of whom argued that the power of the sovereign is ultimately justified (влада суверена, кінець кінцем, виправдана) by the consent (дозвіл) of the governed, given in a hypothetical social contract rather than by divine right (божественне право).

Contemporary liberalism remains committed to social reform, including reducing inequality (зменшення нерівності) and expanding individual rights.

Federalism

Political system that binds (поєднувати) a group of states into a larger, noncentralized, superior (виборний, переважаючий) state while allowing them to maintain (додержувати, додержувати) their own political identities.

Certain characteristics and principles are common to all successful federal systems:

·         a written constitution or basic law stipulating (передбачають) the distribution (розподіл) of powers;

·         diffusion (росповсюдження) of power among the constituent (складова) elements, which are substantially self-sustaining (самопідтримувані);

·         territorial divisions to ensure neutrality (неупередженість) and equality in the representation of various groups and interests.

Changes require the consent of those affected. Successful federal systems also have a sense of common nationality and direct lines of communication between the citizens and all the governments that serve them.

Examples of modern federal systems include the U.S., Brazil, Germany, Russian Federation and Nigeria.