Inkwell Institute

The College of Political Knowledge

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Government/Political Theory

Paper #23

ch-ch-changes…as the song goes……

That was the slogan for the Obama campaign…….that was the selling point for the Dems in 2008…..a vote for Dems would change the course of government and the country…..well sports fans….how did that work out?

There is the conserv change….and the libs change…..and the change that moderates want……but what is it really….change for the sake of change is not change…it is just going through the motions and hoping NO one will notice…..

Change is an interesting yet subjective term….and for that reason it is perfect for a politician to use in their campaign….and is the perfect attack slogan also…why?  Again it is subjective and can be used in a detrimental way to mean something undesirable and foreign.

What you say, Professor?

Just what types of change can there possibly be?

You ask for it!  First I will begin with Radical Change……this is the desire for immediate and fundamental change.  Followers are frustrated and impatient and at times revolutionary in their desire…..they can become violent or not.  (This is pretty much what many see as the definition of change and this is what they want)

Then there is the Liberal Change……..this is the desire for rapid far reaching change they differ from radical change followers in that they believe that improvements can be made through reason…..

Next is the Moderate view of Change……..these followers are fairly content with society and will tolerate a slow and gradual shift or change…(this is where most Americans are at…they vote for change but they will wait and see….any movement is seen as a win)

Conservative Change…….actively challenges any alteration in the status quo…It is very pessimistic about human capacity to improve life through the use of reason.  These depends on “tried and true” institutions and actions…….(here is where the modern GOP falls…..look at their alternative programs…they are just re-hashes from the past…”tried and true”, at least in their eyes.

Finally there is the Reactionary Change…….these followers want things to be as they were in the past….but they seldom define what that means or how far back they want to return….similar to the “radical change” they suffer from frustration when things do not go their way and could possibly resort to violence to get their way.  The Tea Party, at least parts of it, seem to be this type of change…they keep referring to the Founders and the past as examples of where they want to go and the change they want.

As I instructed you…there is change and then there is CHANGE….but which is for you?  Are you a radical or a moderate?  If you want change be sure to know what type of change you are trying to impose….it could bite you and society in the ass.