Philosophies and Ideologies - AP World History: Modern

Marx and Engels were German social philosophers who advocated an economic and social theory known as Marxism. Political systems based on Marxism have been called communist due to their emphasis on community improvement and common good. It bears noting, however, that notable communist governments, like the Soviet government, bear little resemblance to the theories and systems advocated by Marx and Engels.

The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital are the most famous works of Marx and Engels by far. They did, however, write many more books over the years including Value, Price, and Profit, which was critical of the use of mass labor by the wealthy for their gain. Reform or Revolution was written by Rosa Luxembourg, a follower of Marx and Engels.

Marx and Engels advocated the masses or Proletariat as the group that should rule the nation. They felt that to put power into the hands of a few would invite the few to abuse their power. They said the only one capable of ruling the people was the people themselves.

Utilitarianism was a philosophy that concerned the morals and ethics of society. It said that the most ethical action was the one that contributed the most good to the most people. This philosophy sought to change morals and ethics to focus of the benefit of actions to society.

Bentham is credited as the founder of Utilitarian morals. His philosophy was meant to signal a shift in the way society functioned. he wanted to change how society viewed good and bad. He sought to make it more analytical by measuring good and bad as whether something helped more people than it hurt rather than on old moral codes. John Stuart Mill developed Utilitarianism and is probably its most famous proponent, but his work followed Bentham's by a few years.

Anarchists were a group that wanted to end all government. They felt that people should be the only ones to determine their fate. They felt no government should have any control over any person.

While these all became associated with nationalism, the true definition of nationalism is the basic statement of identifying with a nation or group of people. This association over time led to the fanatical devotion and love of this nation or group that would spin Europe out of control towards the First World War.

Utilitarianism encouraged the government and the Elite to ensure that the greatest number of citizens benefited from the distribution of resources, materials, and profit. This became popular in the Industrial revolution as a middle class developed, the poor got poorer, and there was a surplus of material goods in the economy as a result of factory production.

Liberals worked to push society forward and have the voice of the populace represented in government. They would be opposed to any government that favored traditional values over progress, and monarchical over elected officials.

The Monroe Doctrine was issued by American President James Monroe in 1823. It was issued in reaction to the independence movements taking place in Latin America. The doctrine states that the whole of the American hemisphere is under American protection and that the United States will intervene to prevent a renewal of European interference in the Americas. It has remained a significant part of American foreign policy ever since.

Edmund Burke was a political theorist and philosopher in Britain in the eighteenth century. He is remembered for his writings on the American Revolution (of which he was in support) and the French Revolution (which he was opposed to the worst excesses of). Burke is widely credited as the founder of modern conservatism for his arguments in favor of gradual change and the preservation of the status quo.

The Self Strengthening Movement emerged in China in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was a series of institutional and military reforms that were enacted following a humiliating series of concessions and defeats at the hands of European powers.

Deism is associated with the Scientific Revolution because it attempted to explain how God could co-exist with the newly-discovered laws of science. The idea of a watchmaker fits most closely with those requirements, because it embraces the idea that world was created by a higher power but rejects the idea of divine intervention after creation.

The humanist philosophy of studying the classics, celebrating human achievement, and focusing on individuality touched nearly every aspect of Renaissance art and literature. Shakespeare expressed interest in the classics by frequently using them as settings and subjects for his plays, while both Michelangelo and Hans Holbein created paintings that shared the classical love of the human form. Erasmus and Thomas More infused their humanist writings with Christianity, often using satire to raise questions about morality and human nature. However, Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy had little to do with humanism, as it was largely a political move.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was famous for his theory that society must obey the general will of the people, an idea which would later become highly influential on the French Revolution; however, many other Enlightenment philosophers presented ideas about how society should be run: Montesquieu and Voltaire argued for separation of powers and religious toleration, respectively, while Thomas Hobbes believed that men are innately bad and must be ruled by a powerful leader called a Leviathan. John Locke took a different stance, arguing that the mind was a blank slate, or tabula rasa, at birth, and men are innately good.

The Prince was written by the Italian philosopher and political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli in the sixteenth century. It is widely acclaimed as one of the leading works on political theory in human history. In The Prince, Machiavelli advises a theoretical prince on the best ways to govern and ensure the continuation of his power.

René Descartes advocated very strongly for systematic doubt and dualism in his seminal philosophical work Meditations on First Philosophy, so that would be the best choice. Aristotle and Aquinas were great thinkers, but they lived far before Dualism was a commonly discussed intellectual topic. Voltaire was also a French philosopher, but he was generally concerned with ethical and political philosophy, not epistemology. Lastly Karl Popper was a philosopher of science in the 20th century, so he lived far after Dualism was a popular topic of discourse.

Hobbes was primarily interested in political philosophy and he wrote The Leviathan, so he is the correct choice. Voltaire was a French political philosopher concerned with politics, however he did not write the work in question, so he would not be a good choice. Rene Descartes and Jean-Paul Sartre are also French thinkers, but they did not write The Leviathan either, so neither of them would be good choices.

While increased trade in the Renaissance did bring eastern culture to Western Europe, the Humanist movement was completely focused on the study of the classics and western styles of rhetoric, poetry and philosophy.