To many people who have lived within liberal democracies for their entire lives, the notion of rejecting liberalism in favour of an ideology that offers less personal freedom and little input into government decisions may appear incomprehensible. Yet for most of history, even after the advent of liberalism, a majority of the world’s population lived under governments that spurned the primary ideals of liberalism in favour of strict government control and little citizen participation in the decision-making process. In many cases, this strict government rule was imposed on a largely unwilling population by force. In some notable instances, however, liberalism appeared to be rejected by large segments of the population that found it somehow flawed or inadequate.
In this unit, you will examine theories that have been generated to explain why some people reject the concepts of liberalism. You will scrutinize the theoretical basis and practical application of the ideologies that have evolved in opposition to liberalism. Finally, you will be asked to draw your conclusions regarding how well these alternative ideologies have served the nations that have adopted them, leaving you well-positioned to answer the unit question, “To what extent is resistance to liberalism justified?”
In this unit, students will :
To cover the outcomes, there will be 8 main lessons.
| Lesson | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Classical Liberalism Gets Rejected |
| 2 | Techniques of an Authoritarian System |
| 3 | Foundations of Nazism in Germany |
| 4 | Nazi Germany Economics |
| 5 | The Holocaust |
| 6 | Foundations of Communism in Russia |
| 7 | Authoritarian Systems in the Soviet Union |
| 8 | Communist Soviet Union Rejects Economic Liberalism |
Graded work includes three discussions, a unit quiz, and an assignment. Graded work will appear on its own content page so you can clearly identify what to turn in and where. Due dates can be found in the course Checklist. If ever you cannot meet a course due date, let your teacher know through private discussions.
The vocabulary below will used and covered in this unit.