This information is to accompany Unit One of theCurriculum Guide.

Student Information Sheet: Issues In Canadian Society.

Censorship

Censorship is necessary to protect society from wrong thinking, corrupt ideas or anything that might threaten the correct way.

Groups have the right to express their opinions as long as those opinions are not offensive to minorities.

Individuals have an absolute right to listen to, view, or read what they want.

Occasionally it is necessary to protect individuals from things that society agrees are very harmful or corrupt.

Individuals and groups will be easily corrupted by evil or foolish ideas, so they need to be protected by censorship.

The Right of Individuals to Own Property

Property ownership is the cause of most of society's problems, because it makes people greedy, selfish, and corrupt.

Although property ownership leads to many problems, a certain amount of private ownership is necessary.

Ownership of property is a basic right that should only be restricted in special circum- stances.

Ownership of property is a fundamental human right.

Ownership is a basic right, but society functions best when most property is controlled by a small group of intelligent people.

Gun Control

Individuals should not be allowed to have firearms because firearms pose a serious threat to society.

The right of individuals to own firearms must be severely restricted, since firearms threaten the well-being of society.

Individuals have a right to own firearms, provided they obey the law and respect the rights of others.

Individuals should be allowed to own firearms, and only in extreme cases should there be limits on the types of firearms and their uses.

Only those individuals known to be responsible citizens should be trusted to own firearms.

The Legalization of Drugs

Drugs are a threat to society and, therefore, should be totally banned.

Drugs are very dangerous, therefore use must be controlled by law and by working to change conditions in society which make people dependent on drugs.

Individuals should have some say about the drugs they use as long as they are capable of knowing what drugs do and they do not hurt anyone else with their drug use.

Governments should try to protect individuals from the damage that drugs could do to them, and the best way to do this is to make drugs illegal with heavy penalties for selling and using them.

If the government legalized drugs it would be like sending out a message that all behaviour, no matter how evil, is acceptable.

The Right to Strike

Strikes threaten society because they are attempts by selfish people to gain an economic advantage over others.

Strikes are attempts by labour groups to achieve a fair distribution of wealth between owners and workers and to protect the rights and health of workers.

People are free to join together in groups and have the right to withdraw their labour if they wish. This right can only be restricted when it poses a grave danger to the entire society.

People have the right to strike as long as it does not put other people in danger or seriously threaten the economy or society in any way.

Strikes cannot be allowed because they encourage rebellion against authority and thus threaten the stability of society.

The Rights of Children

Children are full members of the community and outstanding citizens, so they deserve full rights as long as they respect authority.

Children have the same rights to protection, dignity and an adequate standard of living that adults have, so they have the same rights to legal and constitutional protection as do adults.

Children's rights should only be limited in those areas where they lack the maturity or responsibility to handle the duty of full citizenship.

The family is the basic unit of society, thus it is up to parents to raise their children in a responsible manner, but if they prove incapable, then it becomes the duty of the government to raise them.

Parents have the right to raise their children to be good citizens or the state or the government may interfere if necessary.

The Right to Economic Equality

All jobs are equally important to a society, therefore all people should make the same amount of money as long as they contribute what they can.

Inequality, or the gap between rich and poor, is the source of many social problems so it should be minimized much as possible.

There will always be some people with greater skills than others who need to be encouraged to contribute. Therefore,in a free society it is unavoidable that some people will be richer than others.

Economic equality is a bad thing because it indicates that society is rewarding those who are lazy and punishing those who work hard.

In a fair society, the hardest working people will always rise to the top, while those who are lazy will always fail; to try to prevent this and make everyone equal is evil.

The Right to Work

Everyone has the right and duty to work, so it is the duty of government to provide work for everyone in building a better society.

Everyone has the right to work and the government has a responsibility to make this possible so that the wealth of society is fairly distributed.

Everyone has the right to work or not work, and since there will always be some who choose not to work or who are not good workers, there will always be unemployment.

Everyone has the right to work, but those who want to work must make their own opportunities because it is not the duty of the government to create opportunities for them.

Everyone has a right to work, but no company has a duty to employ people it does not want to employ, so there will always be some unemployment.

The Right to Criticize Government

Individuals who criticize the government are really criticizing society as a whole and proving they only care about themselves and deserve to be silenced.

People have the right to criticize the government, but they also have a duty to ensure the criticism is fair and is based on facts and reason.

People have an unlimited right to criticize the government.

People can criticize the government, but governments should not bow to the pressure of narrow interest groups.

Responsible citizens have a limited right to criticize the government, but the criticism should be done in private so that the government's reputation is not harmed.

The Right to Believe What You Want

Proper education will ensure that people believe only the right things, but for those who hold on to false beliefs, lifelong therapy and re-education are available.

People have the right to believe what they wish and act on their beliefs within the law.

People have an unlimited right to believe, but in rare cases it may be necessary to restrict people from expressing their beliefs.

There are a broad range of beliefs which are acceptable, but there are certain beliefs that should not be accepted and must not expressed.

People can believe what they want to believe, but they may not express any beliefs that are a threat to the state.

The Right to Education

To have a cooperative and harmonious society, people must have the proper values and beliefs; continual education must be compulsory for everyone so that these values and beliefs can be taught.

Education is essential for the development of individuals and society; thus education at all levels should be available to all people.

Everyone has the right to an education and the government has a responsibility to make education available, but no one has the right to an unlimited education at public expense.

Everyone has the right to a basic education which the government must provide, but extended education is a privilege available to those who are able and willing to do the work required.

Education is important, but the government must control what is taught to keep false ideas from naive and simple minds.

Capital Punishment

Killers, traitors, rapists and other major criminals are a threat to society and so must be executed.

With proper methods all people can be rehabilitated, therefore capital punishment is no solution to crime.

The state has to obey its laws, so state execution is also murder. This means that those who deny the right of others to life should be severely punished but not killed.

Capital punishment is just, because those who deny the right of others to live forfeit their own right to live.

Those who commit serious crimes must be punished by death to serve as a message to others that such behaviour can not be tolerated.

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This information is to accompany Activity Six of the Unit One Curriculum Guide.

Student Information Sheet: The Political Spectrum.

All the responses in the Student Information Sheets entitled Issues in Canadian Society correspond roughly to the categories below:

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
Communism	Socialism	Liberalism	Conservatism	Ultra-Conservatism (sometimes referred to as fascism)

LEFT --------------------- CENTRE ---------------------RIGHT

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This information is to accompany Unit One of the Curriculum Guide.

For printing and copying these templates Require Acrobat Reader

Student Information Sheet: Conservative Ideological Paradigm

Elements of the Conservative Ideology Society has a duty to conserve those things from the past that makes life civilized. Human behaviour must be disciplined. People need order and security. Chaos and anarchy are the greatest threat to society. People who have special abilities have to be able to give leadership. These people may need special rights and powers. Freedom without responsibility means chaos. The most important part of the social contract is maintaining law and order.

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Student Information Sheet: Liberal Ideological Paradigm

Elements of the Liberal Ideology The individual is better qualified than any other person or group to make decisions about his or her own life. Individuality is more important than custom, law, and morality. The individual should be free from any arbitrary restraint that limits one's potential. Individuals if left alone will, in pursuing their own self-interest, also promote the interest of the group. Individuals are reasonable and will do what is best for themselves and others. Governments must not do for individuals what individuals can do for themselves. All power including the government must be controlled or it will become dictatorial.

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Student Information Sheet: Socialist Ideological Paradigm

Elements of the Socialist Ideology Existing social and economic systems are often unjust and inequitable which causes unnecessary suffering for many and gives the few too much. Everyone is important and deserves to be treated with equity and respect. The injustices and suffering brought about by the capitalistic search for profits is wrong. A new social contract should be created that takes wealth and power from the few and gives it to the people, so that society is based on sharing and harmony. Wealth should be distributed so that everyone is able to have enough food, housing, clothing, education and medical care for an adequate living.

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