Illiberal Social Ideology

An Illiberal Social Ideology is a social ideology that rejects or challenges liberal political principles and liberal institutional arrangements while often coopting democratic forms to legitimize anti-liberal practices.

• AKA: Anti-Liberal Perspective, Illiberal Outlook, Antiliberal Viewpoint, Illiberal Democratic Perspective.
• Context:
  • It can typically reject Liberal Political Values such as individual rights, political equality, democratic procedures, constitutional checks, and social pluralism.
  • It can typically prioritize Collective Interests over individual liberty.
  • It can typically favor Centralized Authority over liberal democratic governance.
  • It can typically promote Social Conformity through cultural consensus.
  • It can typically question Liberal Institutional Arrangements such as constitutional constraints, judicial independence, and electoral competition.
  • It can typically erode Democratic Safeguards while maintaining democratic forms like elections.
  • It can typically restrict Media Freedom through state control or economic pressure.
  • ...
  • It can often embrace Traditional Values over progressive social change.
  • It can often emphasize National Unity over political pluralism.
  • It can often favor Economic Nationalism over global market integration.
  • It can often justify State Intervention in social domains that liberal perspectives consider private spheres.
  • It can often employ Majoritarian Claims to overrule minority protections.
  • It can often use Populist Rhetoric positioning real people against corrupt elites.
  • It can often frame Political Opposition as threats to national interest or cultural integrity.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Conservative Illiberalist Perspective to being a Revolutionary Illiberalist Perspective, depending on its illiberalist change orientation.
  • It can range from being a Religious Illiberalist Perspective to being a Secular Illiberalist Perspective, depending on its illiberalist foundational principles.
  • It can range from being a Right-Wing Illiberalist Perspective to being a Left-Wing Illiberalist Perspective, depending on its illiberalist ideological positioning.
  • It can range from being a Soft Illiberalist Perspective to being a Hard Illiberalist Perspective, depending on its illiberalist institutional constraint level.
  • ...
  • It can integrate with Nationalist Sentiment for illiberalist political mobilization.
  • It can connect to Authoritarian Governance Models for illiberalist institutional implementation.
  • It can support Cultural Traditionalism for illiberalist social cohesion.
  • It can emerge from Liberal Democratic Systems experiencing economic insecurity or cultural backlash.
  • It can maintain Electoral Processes while undermining their substantive functions.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Illiberalist Perspective Ideological Traditions, such as:
    • Authoritarian Illiberalist Perspectives, such as:
      • Fascist Illiberalist Perspective rejecting liberal democratic procedures in favor of authoritarian leadership principles.
      • National Socialist Illiberalist Perspective prioritizing racial national community over individual rights.
      • Military Junta Illiberalist Perspective emphasizing security and order over democratic representation.
    • Totalitarian Illiberalist Perspectives, such as:
      • Stalinist Illiberalist Perspective subordinating individual liberty to revolutionary class struggle.
      • Maoist Illiberalist Perspective mobilizing mass participation in service of party-directed transformation.
  • Religious Illiberalist Perspectives, such as:
    • Theocratic Illiberalist Perspectives, such as:
      • Islamist Illiberalist Perspective prioritizing religious law over secular liberal governance.
      • Religious Fundamentalist Illiberalist Perspective rejecting liberal values as contradicting divine principles.
  • Contemporary Illiberalist Perspectives, such as:
    • Populist Illiberalist Perspectives, such as:
      • Right-Wing Populist Illiberalist Perspective combining nativism with anti-elite rhetoric against liberal institutions.
      • Left-Wing Populist Illiberalist Perspective challenging liberal economic institutions through anti-capitalist mobilization.
    • Self-Declared Illiberalist Perspectives, such as:
      • Hungarian Illiberalist Perspective (2010s) explicitly embracing illiberal state status while maintaining electoral processes.
    • Illiberalist Democratic Perspectives, such as:
      • Turkish Illiberalist Democratic Perspective (2010s) combining electoral legitimacy with judicial independence erosion.
      • Indian Illiberalist Democratic Perspective (2010s) emphasizing religious majoritarianism while maintaining formal democratic structures.
      • Philippine Illiberalist Democratic Perspective (2010s) prioritizing security concerns over civil liberty protections.
    • Developmental Illiberalist Perspectives, such as:
      • Authoritarian Capitalist Illiberalist Perspective restricting political liberty while embracing market economy.
      • State-Directed Development Illiberalist Perspective prioritizing economic growth over political rights.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Liberal Perspectives, which embrace rather than reject individual liberty, democratic procedures, and pluralism.
  • Democratic Socialist Perspectives, which seek to extend rather than constrain democratic principles into economic domains.
  • Conservative Liberal Perspectives, which defend traditional values within rather than against liberal frameworks.
  • Traditional Conservative Perspectives, which support constitutionalism and political rights while maintaining conservative values.
  • Authoritarian Technocratic Perspectives, which prioritize expert governance rather than populist rhetoric or majoritarian claims.
• See: Political Ideology, Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism, Populism, Anti-Liberalism, Traditionalism, Liberal Democracy, Democratic Backsliding.

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