3.2.1

What Does Extremism Mean?

Test yourself

What does Extremism mean?

Extremism is when people support extreme ideas or extreme actions.

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What is extremism?

  • Extremism is when people support extreme ideas or actions.
  • Usually, extremism refers to political or religious ideas or actions.
    • Often these ideas go against known facts and the actions are opposed by the majority of people.
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Democracy

  • The basic idea of democracy in politics is that leaders of a country should be elected by the people.
  • The word is based on the Greek word 'demos' which refers to the ordinary people in a country.
  • In Democratic countries, political parties seek votes from the people to be allowed to govern.
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Threat to democracy

  • Not all countries are democratic.
  • Some countries are dictatorships, where a single person or group has gained power, often by force.
    • Dictators continue to rule regardless of the will of the people.
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The Right and Left

  • In the UK, there are different political parties that are sometimes called left-wing or right-wing.
  • These descriptions usually refer to certain types of social and economic policies.
    • For example, they might refer to policies about taxation or the level of welfare benefits.
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Left and Right politics

  • This kind of left and right division is not what is meant by extremism.
  • It is normal for people to have different political ideas in most democratic countries.

Jump to other topics

1Year 7

1.1Origins of Abrahamic Faith

1.2Judaism

1.3Christianity

1.4Buddhism

2Year 8

3Year 9

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