An emphasis on radical democracy may give the impression that collectivism is a doctrine of the left. It may look that way, but collective approaches appear in types and shades of political opinion across the spectrum. The range of collective approaches is far from uniform; the term stretches from conservatives to radicals, or authoritarians to anarchists. General terms such as ‘socialism’ or ‘conservatism’ cover a broad range of principles and perspectives, both individual and collective. Socialism is collective in the sense that it may refer to collective organisation of society, characteristically (but not always) in terms of class or social movements; to the extent that it promotes collective values, such as mutual aid, cooperation and solidarity; in the methods it favours, including radical democracy and state intervention; and in the interpretation of the values associated with socialism, such as equality and social justice. But it is individual in its emphasis on individual rights, human dignity and personal capacity. Conservatism is collective in its understanding of society as a partnership or common enterprise; its support for established institutions, including church and state; and its emphasis on social order, and the values of family, heritage and nation. It tends to be individualistic in its scepticism about its defence of property rights, its approach to economic policy and the protection of individual liberty.

Collectivism offers us a set of perspectives, rather than any specific political doctrine, and those perspectives inform a wide variety of political positions. Collectivist views might be held to include, for example,

• • pluralism, which interprets politics in terms of the interplay of organised interest groups and multiple actors;

• • institutionalism, which analyses political processes by looking at the interactions between formal institutions and society;

• • solidarism, which emphasises substantive collectivism, and the interaction in society of a multitude of diverse, overlapping supportive groups;

• • collectivist doctrines which focus on the relationships between particular aspects of society, like radical feminism (gender), Marxism (economic classes), nationalism (nations), or Hegelianism (states); and

• • organic corporatism, which (in this sense) can mean that society or a nation is understood as if it were a body or organism.

Box 8.1, considering some of the arguments for taxation and redistribution, unavoidably draws on the influence of a range of moral positions.