A2 edexcel - political ideologies - Unit 3 - 13th June

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Maybe talk about collectivism? Shared distribution and all that..

What about why have some socialists adovacated revolution? And what difficulties have they faced?

This limits the talking about different strands a little..

Reply 21

arsenal111

yeah you're right this one moves away from the strands slightly

its more based on the means towards socialism

so essentially a revolutionary vs evolutionary discussion should be okay with more leaning towards the evolutionary side

problems of evolution = the growing wealth of the WC - the 'contented majority' - there was no need for revolution as the problems the WC faced were lessened. wc = working class.
revolution led to miltary style structures where the leaders became accustomed to violent means
revolution led to totalitrian dictatorship (stalin + lenin)

this is a hard question that I would probably avoid but im sure there is enough to squeeze out of it for a 45 marker

Reply 22

EdColeman4

Ah see I missed the evolutionary vs revolutionary discussion, a lot of these essays are easy if you go about them the right way. Only half of your essay has to be in agreement. And then with this one you could then talk about how they have succeeded as well as struggled.. Essentially 4 parts, ten minutes on each one.

I think practice essays are a must with revision, getting the technique right.

Reply 23

arsenal111

yeah defenitely crucial to get some practice essays in. once you know the key points of the argument and constantly relate back to the question its not difficult to get high marks in my opinion

Reply 24

EdColeman4

I am nervous for Summer results though... A kid in my class got a low C in January, got it remarked to a low B, then appealed to have it marked by Heywood and he got an A. I hate to think that our futures are in the hands of the mood-swinging markers!

Reply 25

EdColeman4

Also.. When they ask about revisionist socialism, does that apply to social democracy as a whole or just that one strand?

Reply 26

arsenal111

yep thats social democracy
the third way would be neo revisionists
and marxists are fundamentalists

Reply 27

EdColeman4

How would you differentiate between Marxists and communists? Or wouldn't you?

Reply 28

arsenal111

orthodox communists is what was put to practice by Lenin and Stalin

Marxists are still communists in there ideas though

Reply 29

EdColeman4

Does the third way not fall under social democracy? Or are they two opposing ideas.. They all seem to overlap in socialism, because there are evolutionary and revolutionary foundations to all of them.

Reply 30

arsenal111

third way takes social democracy one step further but there are clear distinctions between them with third way taking a lot of liberal values on board.

the only revolutionary form of socialism is communism
and even then this was not really the case with Lenin's use of a vanguard party rather than a true proletariat uprise.

all other forms is evolutionary, essentially using parliament to create reform slowly and pragmatically

Reply 31

EdColeman4

In my textbook, Heywood's 'Political Ideologies: An Introduction'.. There is about 10 pages on Marxism and communism etc, do I have to know all of it? I saw an update saying there had been a move away from 20th Century socialism on the Spec..

Reply 32

Super_Steven

Anyone written any essays? I'm hoping anarchism comes up tbh, smallest ideology and really only two 45 mark questions that could come up

Im quite stressed about this :s aha, although I heard that the boundaries arent usually too high

Reply 33

arsenal111

I have an essay on socialism
and yeah I heard somewhere that there wont be a question anymore on the Lenin/Stalin regimes so thats a good thing

Reply 34

arsenal111

(Questions will not be set on the features of 20th-century
communism alone.)
^ from the specification - thats a good thing then

Reply 35

chloeee!

Oh god I am SO nervous for this, and even more so for Unit 4.

Reply 36

Super_Steven

then there was four.. xD

im more worried about Unit 4, as they may spring a surprise with the questions they ask

Reply 37

arsenal111

i think unit 4 45 markers are the easiest, because they are such small ideologies you can pretty much guess what the essay will be before you've done the exam :smile:

Reply 38

Super_Steven

Good point!
Multiculturalism will come up as it didnt in January, so I reckon the two main questions they could ask are:
To what extent does Multiculturalism breed tension?
And to what extent is multiculturalism compatible with liberalism?

Any other ideas?

Reply 39

arsenal111