Political Ideologies: An Introduction

Political Ideologies by Andrew Heywood is a great introduction to the various political ideologies that have shaped the modern world. The book covers Liberalism, Conservatism, Socialism, Fascism, Anarchism, Feminism, Nationalism, Ecologism/Environmentalism, and Religious Fundamentalism, each in its own chapter with a brief history of the development of each ideology, their interconnections, and subsections to include other ideologies such as Marxism that is mentioned in the chapter of Socialism, and Nazism that is included in the chapter of Fascism. The book also includes information of the various thinkers and activists of each ideology and their influence and contribution to it. Due to a large number on background reading concerning political ideologies, I can guarantee that the book is overall unbiased and neutral, with the author giving his opinion only at the end of each chapter, while still providing a balanced argument. Overall, Political Ideologies is a great book to be read by anyone interested in an easy and unbiased view on political ideologies, and is also a fine textbook for any student of political ideologies and/or politics.

I purchased this book as a textbook for my political ideologies class. Heywood does a good job of providing a solid and (mostly) neutral overview of some of the more common ideologies, including: Liberalism, Conservatism, Socialism, Fascism, Anarchism, Feminism, Nationalism, Ecologism/Environmentalism, and Religious Fundamentalism. Each chapter provides a brief history of the ideology, its main "thinkers" and contributors, its core principles, and differences of opinion amongst its supporters. At the end of each chapter, Heywood gives his opinion on what he thinks the future of the ideology will be, and what challenges it may face. All in all, I think it is an excellent starting point for anyone who is looking to get a broad overview of the more prominent political ideologies.

This book makes a nice introduction or review text to the world of political ideologies. The author gives a wealth of information on the history, key themes, and current status of each ideology discussed. Sidebars presenting brief biographical sketches of important names within each ideology are also helpful in providing a more complete picture of where ideas come from. My only complaint is that this book seems to have skipped past the editing process and has made it into print filled with glaring grammatical errors and typos. You can find at least two on any page (I've made a game out of it). Although the information is still valid, it is nevertheless annoying.

It was my Political Studies teacher at school who first showed me that life is about ideas. Different views of human nature, ways in which we believe society and the state should be organised, these are eternal debates that have enslaved and emancipated countless numbers over the centuries. Andrew Heywood's `Political Ideologies' served me well then at school and continues to do so - I recently went and bought a copy to read over again. The author manages to combine complexity of thought with simplicity of presentation that opens your eyes to why politicians can't ever seem to agree, even when the answer seems obvious to us. The new edition contains new sections that reflect the collapse of communism, the emergence of a global capitalist system, the rise of ethnic nationalism, religious fundamentalism and the advent of postmodernism. The only criticism that I can level at this textbook is that it isn't really designed for an international audience. The author is a British academic and so it isn't that surprising that, for example, the section on conservatism is more relevant to the UK Conservative Party than the GOP. But still, for anyone who cares about life and the way that people should be treated by the state, this is a great introduction that will open up a new world of political possibilities.