Politics maily rely on the element of power. An individual or a group of people must acquire a control over the rest since he, or she has the power over them. The power in politics may be properly understood with proper understanding of the various political notions. Although, there are a number of notions that define political power the most critical ones at the moment are conservatism and feminism. Each of them is unique on the principles that define them as well as the political power that they hold. They have exclusive command on the flow of politics in the different countries where they apply.
In politics, conservatism may refer to the desire to maintain the existing orders. It is a highly respectful political notion. It recognizes the effectiveness of the wisdom of the past in governance. They believe that previous experiences are paramount in defining the current form of leadership and dictating proper control of current activities based on previous experiences (Quinn, 2014).
Although. Politics are famous in establishing reforms; conservatism is the major enemy of the move. The politicians under the influence of the changes that are evident in the current political world must rely on previous principles to make a stand. At no point should conservatism be interfered with (Ryns, 2012). However, it is a major influence of the current form of leadership in any society.
The conditions that were set by previous leaders are the major governing principles. However, a slight change on how the rules or laws work under the conservatism policy defines the uniqueness of the political notion. It allows people to reason around certain principles thus acting as a guide to the development of the necessary political principles (Ryns, 2012).
Conservatism may take different forms. The first one is liberal conservatism. The form of conservatism relies on the conservative values as well as policies that contain liberal stances. The form of conservatism mainly adopts the economic liberal arguments. It is a major determinant of one’s contribution to the economy.
The other one is conservative liberalism. It is a variant of liberalism that engages liberal values as well as policies that contain conservative stances. The roots of this form of conservatism may be located in the history of liberalism.
Fiscal conservatism is the other form of conservatism. It defines the effectiveness of economic philosophy in controlling government spending, as well as debt. The policies of the conservatism are that the government should bear its burdens instead of placing them on the shoulders of the citizens. The government need exclusive conviction that the citizens are the most reliable in repaying the tax for the government. The action by the government cannot fully solve a societal problem. There is a need for the intervention of the society in the execution of any issue (Sproviero, 2013).
In addition, there would be cultural and social conservatism. The conservatism is vital in the preservation of the heritage of the nation. The previous social and cultural beliefs of a society are paramount in dictating how modern leadership should embrace the traditional heritage. The culture and social status of the region is required to set proper ground that would help in administering justice at the current times. However, the process must involve critical consideration of the cultural and social issues surrounding people (Sproviero, 2013).
The religion common in a society defines the significance of the religious conservatism. It means there must be extremely strong ties between religion and the governance of the region. The religious principles of a society are fundamental in determining the form of governance in the society. The political governance under conservatism needs to respect the religious belief of the members of the society. The religious conditions that are available in the region must be followed if they dictate how certain issues of governance may be handled. Failure to respect the religious practices define extensive failure of the government (Sproviero, 2013). For example, conservatisms must reject those practices that modern governances ignore like abortion, drug use, and homosexuality.
Under conservatism, the political power may be controlled by certain people who believe in certain principles. These must be individuals or groups of people who understand the previous conditions of governance. Traditionalists may be among the people who may revolutionize the element of power in the society. They ensure that modernity does not influence poor leadership. Also, religious people must hold to the political knowledge provided by the religion to defend the society from the abuse of power by other people (Quinn, 2014).
The approaches suggest various people who should hold power. The first people are the traditionalists, who have exposure to traditional forms of leadership. They also stand by certain social and cultural practices that make them significant in defining power or leadership of a group of people. Also, religious leaders are vessels of power in the society. They hold principles of guidance to the government through religious conditions. The people who practice governance must understand the conditions or principles of leadership that make it simple for them to rule (Quinn, 2014).
The feminism political notion is highly influential on political leadership. It is a principle that tries to explain how women participate in the political continuity of a society or a country. There are various arguments that indicate that women should never govern. However, the situation continues to change since there is proper sensitization of equality in leadership and any person may be allowed to rule provided he, or she stands with proper political principles (Meyers, 2012).
The effectiveness of the feminist political theory mainly relies on three major schools of feminist known as liberal feminism, socialist feminism, and radical feminism (Foronto, 2014).Liberal feminists argued on the various ways through which discrimination beats women’s aspirations. They defended how reforms helped to change or define women’s equality in a social or political reality. In a society, boys and girls are usually brought up differently. In many societies, boys are trained for the hard life where they should be responsible of various duties in leadership.
On the other hand, girls are entrusted domestic chores where they are likely to practice no leadership principle. In most occasions, the girls do not have the freedom to choose what they want to do while boys have excellent chances of making the necessary choices. Currently, the women are fighting for equality with men (Foronto, 2014). They still believe that they need extra power that would make the equal to men.
Also, there are socialist feminists, which is inclined labor and economic structures. The women push for equal compensation for women for any duty they undertake. The socialists ask of who pays women of taking care of their homes, as well as the men. There are no roles that only women should undertake while men cannot handle the tasks. The social feminists believe that women are being exploited (Meyers, 2012). They are not exposed to equal rights as it is the case for the men.
In addition, there are the radical feminism. The school of thought turns women’s attention to sexuality as well as the disparities of power that surpass heterosexual relationships in patriarchal cultures. Radical feminism has a theory that men objectifies the female body by dominating it leading to the degradation of women as a source of erotic stimulation. However, the women continue to fight for their rights in leadership. They believe that they have the capacity to lead better than women. Therefore, the notion suggests that women desire to lead a nation or a group of people that requires special attention. There must be proper willingness for the society to promote the ladies if it would have to work in a way that will make female leadership a reality (Driscoll & Krook, 2013).
According to the feminist political theory men dominate the leadership. The percentage of women in politics is almost zero. There lacks motivation for the leaders. The men make major decisions on behalf of women without any contribution by the ladies (McAfee, 2009).
The political theory suggests that women should hold the power. According to the feminist's women, are more productive than men. They believe that the exercises that women do through taking care of a husband and children is a reliable sign that women can become extremely reliable leaders (Adams, 2013).
Women have equal power of governance if a chance comes up. There must be a critical view to show the significance of women in leadership. Feminism fights for the leadership of women. It fights for all their rights especially in politics.
Politics is an extremely sensitive subject in any society. It is through politics that the activities of the society flow. There has to be critical or well defined political principles to control the wellbeing of the society. Proper running of political agendas in any country or society highly depends on the political notions of the region. Conservatism and feminism are among the most key of critical political notions defining the progress of the society. Through conservatism, people are not willing to change from the old governance. They still believe that the old politics should have part in modern government. The conservatisms believe that modernity is not subject to alienation of the past. They believe in the old principles. They have gathered evidence to challenge the reforms that are likely to bring change. On the other hand, politics may highly be highly influenced by the feminism notion. Gender in leadership is a highly sensitive issue. The credibility of women in leadership is still bothering many politicians. Most societies do not support the governance of a woman. There is no proper recoding of past female governance. However, the feminism political theory justifies proper leadership by women. However, the success of the move is extremely challenging.
References
Adams, J., 2013. Ideology. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/Ideology.htm
Driscoll, A., & Krook, M., 2013. Feminism and rational choice theory. European Political Science Review, 10(10), 195-216.
Foronto, J., 2014, September 4. POLITICAL SCIENCE AS A SOCIAL SC. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~josephf/pol242/1PolSciSocSci.htm
McAfee, N., 2009, March 1. Feminist Political Philosophy. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-political/
Meyers, D., 2012. Feminist social and political philosophy. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1541079/feminism-philosophical/284110/Feminist-social-and-political-philosophy
Quinn, J., 2014, March 5. An Overview of Political Conservatism. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://usconservatives.about.com/od/conservativepolitics101/p/Overview.htm
Ryns, K., 2012. "Feminist Political Theory" entry in Michael Gibbons (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Political Thought. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://www.academia.edu/2650005/_Feminist_Political_Theory_entry_in_Michael_Gibbons_Ed._The_Encyclopedia_of_Political_Thought
Sproviero, G., 2013, October 12. Conservatism and Ideological Politics- The Imaginative Conservative. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2013/10/conservatism-ideological-politics.html
