Politics Edexcel Exam 13th june and 16th June - Unit 3b and Unit 4b - ideologies

I only need a C this year to get an A overall, so hopefully I've managed it. For the feminism 15 marker, I said that radical feminists believed that 'gender' was a myth so therefore gender inequality would never work. Then I spoke about difference feminists who think that aiming for equality with men amounts to being male-identified, and women should instead aim to seek fulfillment as women.

For the 45 marker, I'm actually kind of worried. I did write a lot but didn't mention socialist feminism, which I should have, but focused mainly on the differences between liberal feminism and radical feminism (liberals don't agree that the personal is the political, radicals do). Then towards the end I started realising I should probably talk about how feminism as a whole is defined by other things than that belief, and shoved in a paragraph about third-wave feminism and how they reject all-encompassing views, because they're influenced by postmodernism. So yeah, I just really hope I managed to get an A/B in this and a D in 3B so I can get a C overall at A2 to get my A!

what sorta stuff did you mention for the 45 marks for/against

I only need a C this year to get an A overall, so hopefully I've managed it. For the feminism 15 marker, I said that radical feminists believed that 'gender' was a myth so therefore gender inequality would never work. Then I spoke about difference feminists who think that aiming for equality with men amounts to being male-identified, and women should instead aim to seek fulfillment as women.

For the 45 marker, I'm actually kind of worried. I did write a lot but didn't mention socialist feminism, which I should have, but focused mainly on the differences between liberal feminism and radical feminism (liberals don't agree that the personal is the political, radicals do). Then towards the end I started realising I should probably talk about how feminism as a whole is defined by other things than that belief, and shoved in a paragraph about third-wave feminism and how they reject all-encompassing views, because they're influenced by postmodernism. So yeah, I just really hope I managed to get an A/B in this and a D in 3B so I can get a C overall at A2 to get my A!

I thought they were both not as bad as feared.

I did what I hope was a nice 45 marker in both, first for socialism and then for feminism. Both were just nice going through the strands and comparing their views on an issue.

Guys what do you think
Both exams I was extremely tired as I was sleeping in the day and waking up at night - revising in morning then doing the exam. Mainly I'm scared at how I wrote everything because I found that I remembered everything well but was all over the place (and sleepy) So guys what do you think, did I get an A? lol cos I need a B overall and the best I'm probably getting for first year is a B though I found ideologies in second year easier.

Heres what I did

3B

Why do socialists support collectivism?

Went on a long one here, kept talking about its benefits, solidarity and greater achievements as a group rather than individual self-striving

Examples include clubs, trade unions and economically Keynesian and public ownership

Collectivists anarchists reject state

Modern liberals also agree on economics side but see individuals as still important

Individualism and anarchism

Anarchism freedom is most important

Individualist anarchism (anarcho-capitalism) see free market as self regulating and efficient blah blah blah, agree with no state and freedom as priority, this is egotistical individualsim (classical liberalism taken to its extreme) Warren and Tucker

Collectivist anarchists against individualism but see developmental individualism as important

Mainly wrote about how no state has supreme importance of individual

Social liberalism and economic liberalism

Essentially this is a divide between classic and modern liberals

Classic liberalists support economic liberalism (free market, milton friedmand, neoliberals in 20th century) efficency and no regulation of market

However late 19th century saw depravity of workers so modern liberals support some social liberalism, care for others and keynsian polices (and others such as welfare etc)

Essay on socialism support equality of outcome

Intro - socialism is defined by equality of outcome compared to other ideologies

Paragraph - Initially socialists were committed to same 'ends' of abolishing capitalism and creating Equality of outcome - revolutionary and evolutionary trends

Paragraph - analysing evolutionary trend and Fabian society etc, how it failed because of workers becoming better off and 'manufacture of consent', how this evolved into reformist social democracy which supported reforming capitalism - not equality of outcome

Paragraph - analyzing Soviet Union and how it used repression, did not support equality of outcome especially under Stalin etc

Paragraph - social democracy and analyzing revisionists again

Paragraph - neo revisionism and third way of Labour, modern liberal policies not supporting equality of outcome but equality of opportunity. Criticism from old socialists, Blair's rebuttal "what works what gives effect to our values" etc changing society two thirds one third majority

Paragraph - criticism from revolutionary and old socialists including removal of worker's revolutionary instinct, Labour sold out to capitalism.

No time for conclusion - 2 sentences detailing overall socialists had supported equality of outcome

Wrote fast as hell used a lot of names etc was knackered though, and heres 4B


I was kinda pissed off at the essay question on multiculturalism, I spent the entire night (I woke up at 1am) and whole morning revising nationalism, ecologism and multiculturalism and only had a half hour nap before the exam. This is how I did it all, generally I thought it went very well, but the essay question I was just in a daze at what the hell it was all about. Anyway:

15 markers:

1.Political nationalism and cultural nationalism

-Nationalism is shared values, history, cultural, Mazzini quote "every nation a state, one state for each nation" strives for nation state

-Political nationalism strives for political sovereignty (?) and the nation state as ultimate goal for unit of government, in common liberal nationalism and values of toleration, civic nationalism and freedom etc

-Cultural nationalism refers to revival of cultural pride and history and not necessarily aimed at political sovereignty or state. For example Wales in the state of UK, reviving welsh language.

2.How and why have ecologists/sustainability

Sustainability because of growth and dangers of mankind

Arne Naess distinguished between shallow and deep ecologists, also German "Realis" and "Fundis", dark and light greens respectively

-Shallow light greens are basically enviromewntalists and want to maintain sustainbaility by reforming capitalism such as tax and renewable energy, recyling

-criticised by deep green who want radical reform, "zero growth", schumacher "buddhist economics"

-Definitions of sustainably I used Gaia Hypothesis by James Lovelock, his suggestion to use nuclear power and then went into "spaceship economy" analysis and closing comments about Schumacher's advice that renewable energy is the income that we use rather than the finite resources which we use as income and not treat as natural capital

3.Conservative nationalism

Straight forward

-Nationalism was seen as initially revolutionary but then conservatives adopted its unity of history values and culture as a way of making a organic nation and society

- Conservative nationalism uses history and tradition to reinforce the nation's pride and meta-narratives to convene a sense of purpose and culture

- However conservatives are wary of immigration and the organic analogy can suffer from the organic parasite of immigration which can destabilize society and values

-Can lead to war and aggressive nationalism, distinction between race and nation is implicit in conservative nationalism while in expansionist nationalism it is explicit

Essay - to what extent do multiculturalists support diversity and politics of difference

Okay like I mentioned this well but you guys will need to help me out here. I had not idea what this was trying to ask but I answered this to the best of my ability

-Generic intro about multiculturalism

-Liberal multiculturalism support it due to toleration J.S. Mill "dull conformism" if there are not diverse opinions and mentioned public/private divide and examples in France and USA of civic nationalism, however liberals do not support infringement on rights such as forced marriage and only see liberal democracy as the valid government for all (don't accept sharia law)

- Pluralists argue they don't go far enough. Bikkhu Parekh and Isaiah Berlin on value pluralism and that not one culture is true different cultures liberals "absolutise" culture, Edward Said on stereotype of other nationalities in Orientalism

-Criticism of this view from Brian Barry (2002) ?? and Amitya Sen (2006) on divide society and economic issues not being addressed

-Cosmopolitan multiculturalism sees diversity as cultural melting pot and ultimately becoming one culture, multiculturalists would reject to this because it undermines genuine culture and can give people a sense of normlessness

-Particularist multiculturalism and its criticism by amitya sen that it can create ghettoisation and violence

- Had no idea what political difference meant, but had one big paragraph of gnereal criticism from conservatives, liberal universalists and feminists creating "difference" Social reformists criticism by Barry

-Conclusion about support of diversity and creating politics of difference.

Thats it. Phew. So guys, if you could help me there on any points I left out, especially on multiculturalism

Guys what do you think
Both exams I was extremely tired as I was sleeping in the day and waking up at night - revising in morning then doing the exam. Mainly I'm scared at how I wrote everything because I found that I remembered everything well but was all over the place (and sleepy) So guys what do you think, did I get an A? lol cos I need a B overall and the best I'm probably getting for first year is a B though I found ideologies in second year easier.

Heres what I did

3B

Why do socialists support collectivism?

Went on a long one here, kept talking about its benefits, solidarity and greater achievements as a group rather than individual self-striving

Examples include clubs, trade unions and economically Keynesian and public ownership

Collectivists anarchists reject state

Modern liberals also agree on economics side but see individuals as still important

Individualism and anarchism

Anarchism freedom is most important

Individualist anarchism (anarcho-capitalism) see free market as self regulating and efficient blah blah blah, agree with no state and freedom as priority, this is egotistical individualsim (classical liberalism taken to its extreme) Warren and Tucker

Collectivist anarchists against individualism but see developmental individualism as important

Mainly wrote about how no state has supreme importance of individual

Social liberalism and economic liberalism

Essentially this is a divide between classic and modern liberals

Classic liberalists support economic liberalism (free market, milton friedmand, neoliberals in 20th century) efficency and no regulation of market

However late 19th century saw depravity of workers so modern liberals support some social liberalism, care for others and keynsian polices (and others such as welfare etc)

Essay on socialism support equality of outcome

Intro - socialism is defined by equality of outcome compared to other ideologies

Paragraph - Initially socialists were committed to same 'ends' of abolishing capitalism and creating Equality of outcome - revolutionary and evolutionary trends

Paragraph - analysing evolutionary trend and Fabian society etc, how it failed because of workers becoming better off and 'manufacture of consent', how this evolved into reformist social democracy which supported reforming capitalism - not equality of outcome

Paragraph - analyzing Soviet Union and how it used repression, did not support equality of outcome especially under Stalin etc

Paragraph - social democracy and analyzing revisionists again

Paragraph - neo revisionism and third way of Labour, modern liberal policies not supporting equality of outcome but equality of opportunity. Criticism from old socialists, Blair's rebuttal "what works what gives effect to our values" etc changing society two thirds one third majority

Paragraph - criticism from revolutionary and old socialists including removal of worker's revolutionary instinct, Labour sold out to capitalism.

No time for conclusion - 2 sentences detailing overall socialists had supported equality of outcome

Wrote fast as hell used a lot of names etc was knackered though, and heres 4B


I was kinda pissed off at the essay question on multiculturalism, I spent the entire night (I woke up at 1am) and whole morning revising nationalism, ecologism and multiculturalism and only had a half hour nap before the exam. This is how I did it all, generally I thought it went very well, but the essay question I was just in a daze at what the hell it was all about. Anyway:

15 markers:

1.Political nationalism and cultural nationalism

-Nationalism is shared values, history, cultural, Mazzini quote "every nation a state, one state for each nation" strives for nation state

-Political nationalism strives for political sovereignty (?) and the nation state as ultimate goal for unit of government, in common liberal nationalism and values of toleration, civic nationalism and freedom etc

-Cultural nationalism refers to revival of cultural pride and history and not necessarily aimed at political sovereignty or state. For example Wales in the state of UK, reviving welsh language.

2.How and why have ecologists/sustainability

Sustainability because of growth and dangers of mankind

Arne Naess distinguished between shallow and deep ecologists, also German "Realis" and "Fundis", dark and light greens respectively

-Shallow light greens are basically enviromewntalists and want to maintain sustainbaility by reforming capitalism such as tax and renewable energy, recyling

-criticised by deep green who want radical reform, "zero growth", schumacher "buddhist economics"

-Definitions of sustainably I used Gaia Hypothesis by James Lovelock, his suggestion to use nuclear power and then went into "spaceship economy" analysis and closing comments about Schumacher's advice that renewable energy is the income that we use rather than the finite resources which we use as income and not treat as natural capital

3.Conservative nationalism

Straight forward

-Nationalism was seen as initially revolutionary but then conservatives adopted its unity of history values and culture as a way of making a organic nation and society

- Conservative nationalism uses history and tradition to reinforce the nation's pride and meta-narratives to convene a sense of purpose and culture

- However conservatives are wary of immigration and the organic analogy can suffer from the organic parasite of immigration which can destabilize society and values

-Can lead to war and aggressive nationalism, distinction between race and nation is implicit in conservative nationalism while in expansionist nationalism it is explicit

Essay - to what extent do multiculturalists support diversity and politics of difference

Okay like I mentioned this well but you guys will need to help me out here. I had not idea what this was trying to ask but I answered this to the best of my ability

-Generic intro about multiculturalism

-Liberal multiculturalism support it due to toleration J.S. Mill "dull conformism" if there are not diverse opinions and mentioned public/private divide and examples in France and USA of civic nationalism, however liberals do not support infringement on rights such as forced marriage and only see liberal democracy as the valid government for all (don't accept sharia law)

- Pluralists argue they don't go far enough. Bikkhu Parekh and Isaiah Berlin on value pluralism and that not one culture is true different cultures liberals "absolutise" culture, Edward Said on stereotype of other nationalities in Orientalism

-Criticism of this view from Brian Barry (2002) ?? and Amitya Sen (2006) on divide society and economic issues not being addressed

-Cosmopolitan multiculturalism sees diversity as cultural melting pot and ultimately becoming one culture, multiculturalists would reject to this because it undermines genuine culture and can give people a sense of normlessness

-Particularist multiculturalism and its criticism by amitya sen that it can create ghettoisation and violence

- Had no idea what political difference meant, but had one big paragraph of gnereal criticism from conservatives, liberal universalists and feminists creating "difference" Social reformists criticism by Barry

-Conclusion about support of diversity and creating politics of difference.

Thats it. Phew. So guys, if you could help me there on any points I left out, especially on multiculturalism

anyone do the feminism 45 marker? what kind of points did you make??

i was quite confused as to what write write, sorta mentioned a debate between cosmopolitan embracing diversity from pick and mick, jeremy wladron, then spoke about pluralists support (value pluralism) everyone opinions are diver but equal, tolerate, then said how it drew on the idea of ecology, diversity important to society as biodiversity is to ecoglism, people respeict difference if they will others side by side and then spoke about liberal m, support, then said however to the extent is limited, as libs do not accomodate deep diversity such as female , due to indidvual and the idea that only support it within a framework...and concluded that they did support it quite a large extent. tbh dont know if its right, my teacher said i was right stuff, but im not feeling confident

i did the feminist rejecting equality - did u write about differencial feminists ?
conservative nationalism - understood it but felt i didnt have too much to write ?
identity politics multiculturalism one

and then feminism essay

nooone found it amazing but i dont think they found it horrendous! you?

i just found i had barely any time had to skip 2 15 markers 2 get to the last 45 marker (was it 45 btw) n when i went to go bk i heard 10 mins left.. fml

Wait, how many 15 markers did you do?

i done 1 fully completely missed one out, and got half way through one rushing because i only had 10 mins left. answered the 45 marker well though i hope but still fml not good time went so quick it takes a while 4 me to get really into it