Ideology

Anideologyis a set ofbeliefsor philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purelyepistemic,in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones".Formerly applied primarily toeconomic,political,orreligioustheories and policies, in a tradition going back toKarl MarxandFriedrich Engels,more recent use treats the term as mainly condemnatory.

The term was coined byAntoine Destutt de Tracy,aFrench Enlightenmentaristocrat andphilosopher,who conceived it in 1796 as the "science of ideas" to develop a rational system of ideas to oppose the irrational impulses of the mob. Inpolitical science,the term is used in adescriptivesense to refer topolitical belief systems.

Etymology and history

Antoine Destutt de Tracycoined the termideology.

The termideologyoriginates fromFrenchidéologie,itself deriving from combiningGreek:idéā(ἰδέα,'notion, pattern'; close to theLockeansense ofidea) and-logíā(-λογῐ́ᾱ,'the study of'). The term ideology and the system of ideas associated with it was coined in 1796 byAntoine Destutt de Tracywhile in prison pending trial during theReign of Terror,where he read the works of Locke andÉtienne Bonnot de Condillac.

Hoping to form a secure foundation for themoralandpolitical sciences,Tracy devised the term for a "science of ideas", basing such upon two things: (1) the sensations that people experience as they interact with the material world; and (2) the ideas that form in their minds due to those sensations. Tracy conceivedideologyas aliberal philosophythat would defendindividual liberty,property,free markets,and constitutional limits on state power. He argues that, among these aspects, ideology is the most generic term because the 'science of ideas' also contains the study of their expression and deduction.Thecoup d'étatthat overthrewMaximilien Robespierreallowed Tracy to pursue his work.Tracy reacted to the terroristic phase of the revolution (during the Napoleonic regime as part of theNapoleonic Wars) by trying to work out arationalsystem of ideas to oppose theirrationalmob impulses that had nearly destroyed him.

A subsequent early source for the near-original meaning ofideologyisHippolyte Taine's work on theAncien Régime,Origins of Contemporary FranceI. He describesideologyas rather like teaching philosophy via theSocratic method,though without extending the vocabulary beyond what the general reader already possessed, and without the examples from observation that practical science would require. Taine identifies it not just with Tracy but also with hismilieu,and includes Condillac as one of its precursors.Napoleon Bonapartecame to viewideologyas a term of abuse, which he often hurled against his liberal foes in Tracy'sInstitut national.According toKarl Mannheim's historical reconstruction of the shifts in the meaning ofideology,the modern meaning of the word was born when Napoleon used it to describe his opponents as "the ideologues". Tracy's major book,The Elements of Ideology,was soon translated into the major languages of Europe.

In the century following Tracy, the termideologymoved back and forth between positive and negative connotations. During this next generation, when post-Napoleonic governments adopted areactionarystance, influenced the Italian, Spanish and Russian thinkers who had begun to describe themselves asliberalsand who attempted to reignite revolutionary activity in the early 1820s, including theCarbonarisocieties in France and Italy and theDecembrists in Russia.Karl Marxadopted Napoleon's negative sense of the term, using it in his writings, in which he once described Tracy as a‹See Tfd›fischblütige Bourgeoisdoktrinär(a "fish-blooded bourgeois doctrinaire" ).The term has since dropped some of its pejorative sting (euphemism treadmill), and has become a neutral term in the analysis of differingpolitical opinionsand views ofsocial groups.While Marx situated the term withinclass struggleand domination,others believed it was a necessary part ofinstitutional functioningandsocial integration.

Definitions and analysis

There are many different kinds of ideologies, includingpolitical,social,epistemological,andethical.Recent analysis tends to posit thatideologyis a 'coherent system of ideas' that rely on a few basic assumptions about reality that may or may not have any factual basis. Through this system, ideas become coherent, repeated patterns through thesubjectiveongoing choices that people make. These ideas serve as the seed around which furtherthoughtgrows. The belief in an ideology can range from passive acceptance up to fervent advocacy. Definitions, such as byManfred StegerandPaul James,emphasize both the issue of patterning andcontingentclaims to truth. They wrote: "Ideologies are patterned clusters of normatively imbued ideas and concepts, including particular representations of power relations. These conceptual maps help people navigate the complexity of their political universe and carry claims to social truth."

Studies of the concept of ideology itself (rather than specific ideologies) have been carried out under the name ofsystematic ideologyin the works of George Walford and Harold Walsby, who attempt to explore the relationships between ideology andsocial systems.David W. Minar describes six different ways the wordideologyhas been used:

1. As a collection of certain ideas with certain kinds ofcontent,usually normative;
2. As theform orinternal logicalstructurethat ideas have within a set;
3. By the role ideas play inhuman-social interaction;
4. By the role ideas play in thestructure of an organization;
5. As meaning, whose purpose ispersuasion;and
6. As thelocusofsocial interaction.

For Willard A. Mullins, anideologyshould be contrasted with the related (but different) issues ofutopiaandhistorical myth.An ideology is composed of four basic characteristics:

1. it must have power overcognition;
2. it must be capable of guiding one'sevaluations;
3. it must provide guidance towards action; and
4. it must be logically coherent.

Terry Eagletonoutlines (more or less in no particular order) some definitions of ideology:

1. The process of production of meanings, signs and values in social life
2. A body of ideas characteristic of a particular social group or class
3. Ideas that help legitimate a dominant political power
4. False ideas that help legitimate a dominant political power
5. Systematically distorted communication
6. Ideas that offer a position for a subject
7. Forms of thought motivated by social interests
8. Identity thinking
9. Socially necessary illusion
10. The conjuncture ofdiscourseand power
11. The medium in which conscious social actors make sense of their world
12. Action-oriented sets of beliefs
13. The confusion of linguistic and phenomenal reality
14. Semioticclosure
15. The indispensable medium in which individuals live out their relations to asocial structure
16. The process that converts social life to a natural reality

German philosopher Christian Duncker called for a "critical reflection of the ideology concept".In his work, he strove to bring the concept of ideology into the foreground, as well as the closely connected concerns ofepistemologyand history, definingideologyin terms of a system of presentations that explicitly or implicitly lay claim to absolute truth.

Marxist interpretation

Karl Marxposits that a society's dominant ideology is integral to its superstructure.

Marx's analysis sees ideology as a system of false consciousness that arises from the economic relationships, reflecting and perpetuating the interests of the dominant class.

In the Marxistbase and superstructuremodel of society,basedenotes therelations of productionandmodes of production,andsuperstructuredenotes thedominant ideology(i.e. religious, legal, political systems). The economic base of production determines the political superstructure of a society. Rulingclass-interestsdetermine the superstructure and the nature of the justifying ideology—actions feasible because theruling classcontrol themeans of production.For example, in afeudalmode of production,religious ideology is the most prominent aspect of the superstructure, while in capitalist formations, ideologies such asliberalismandsocial democracydominate. Hence the great importance of ideology justifies a society and politically confuses the alienated groups of society viafalse consciousness.Some explanations have been presented.Antonio Gramsciusescultural hegemonyto explain why theworking-classhave a false ideological conception of what their best interests are. Marx argued: "The class which has the means of material production at its disposal has control at the same time over the means of mental production."

The Marxist formulation of "ideology as an instrument of social reproduction" is conceptually important to thesociology of knowledge,viz.Karl Mannheim,Daniel Bell,andJürgen Habermaset al. Moreover, Mannheim has developed and progressed from the "total" but "special" Marxist conception of ideology to a "general" and "total" ideological conception acknowledging that all ideology (includingMarxism) resulted from social life, an idea developed by the sociologistPierre Bourdieu.Slavoj Žižekand the earlierFrankfurt Schooladded to the "general theory" of ideology a psychoanalytic insight that ideologies do not include only conscious but alsounconsciousideas.

Ideological state apparatuses (Althusser)

French Marxist philosopherLouis Althusserproposed that ideology is "the imagined existence (or idea) of things as it relates to the real conditions of existence" and makes use of a lacunar discourse. A number of propositions, which are never untrue, suggest a number of other propositions, which are. In this way, the essence of the lacunar discourse is what isnottold but is suggested. For example, the statement "All areequal before the law",which is a theoretical groundwork of current legal systems, suggests that all people may be of equal worth or have equal opportunities. This is not true, according to Althusser, for the concept ofprivate propertyand power over themeans of productionresults in some people being able to own more than others. This power disparity contradicts the claim that all share both practical worth and future opportunity equally; for example, the rich can afford better legal representation, which practically privileges them before the law.

Althusser proffered the concept of theideological state apparatusto explain his theory of ideology. His first thesis was "ideology has no history":while individual ideologieshave histories, interleaved with the general class struggle of society, the general form of ideology is external to history. For Althusser, beliefs and ideas are the products of social practices, not the reverse. His thesis that "ideas are material"is illustrated by the" scandalous advice "ofPascaltoward unbelievers: "Kneel and pray, and then you will believe." What is ultimately ideological for Althusser are not the subjective beliefs held in the conscious "minds" of human individuals, but rather discourses that produce these beliefs, the material institutions and rituals that individuals take part in without submitting it to conscious examination and so much morecritical thinking.

Ideology and the Commodity (Debord)

The French Marxist theoristGuy Debord,founding member of theSituationist International,argued that when the commodity becomes the "essential category" of society, i.e. when the process ofcommodificationhas been consummated to its fullest extent, the image of society propagated by the commodity (as it describes all of life as constituted by notions and objects deriving their value only as commodities tradeable in terms ofexchange value), colonizes all of life and reduces society to a mere representation,The Society of the Spectacle.

Unifying agents (Hoffer)

The American philosopherEric Hofferidentified several elements that unify followers of a particular ideology:

1. Hatred: "Mass movements can rise and spread without aGod,but never without belief in adevil."The "ideal devil" is a foreigner.
2. Imitation: "The less satisfaction we derive from being ourselves, the greater is our desire to be like others…the more we mistrust our judgment and luck, the more are we ready to follow the example of others."
3. Persuasion: The proselytizing zeal of propagandists derives from "a passionate search for something not yet found more than a desire to bestow something we already have."
4. Coercion: Hoffer asserts that violence andfanaticismare interdependent. People forcibly converted toIslamicorcommunistbeliefs become as fanatical as those who did the forcing. He says: "It takes fanatical faith to rationalize our cowardice."
5. Leadership: Without the leader, there is no movement. Often the leader must wait long in the wings until the time is ripe. He calls for sacrifices in the present, to justify his vision of a breathtaking future. The skills required include: audacity, brazenness, iron will, fanatical conviction; passionate hatred, cunning, a delight in symbols; ability to inspire blind faith in the masses; and a group of ablelieutenants.Charlatanismis indispensable, and the leader often imitates both friend and foe, "a single-minded fashioning after a model." He will not lead followers towards the "promised land",but only" away from their unwanted selves ".
6. Action: Original thoughts are suppressed, and unity encouraged, if the masses are kept occupied through great projects, marches, exploration and industry.
7. Suspicion: "There is prying and spying, tense watching and a tense awareness of being watched." This pathological mistrust goes unchallenged and encouragesconformity,notdissent.

Ronald Inglehart

Ronald Inglehartof theUniversity of Michiganis author of theWorld Values Survey,which, since 1980, has mapped social attitudes in 100 countries representing 90% of global population. Results indicate that where people live is likely to closely correlate with their ideological beliefs. In much of Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, people prefer traditional beliefs and are less tolerant of liberal values.Protestant Europe,at the other extreme, adheres more to secular beliefs and liberal values. Alone among high-income countries, the United States is exceptional in its adherence to traditional beliefs, in this case Christianity.

Political ideologies

See also:List of political ideologies

Inpolitical science,a political ideology is a certain ethical set ofideals,principles,doctrines,myths,orsymbolsof asocial movement,institution,class,or large group that explains howsocietyshould work, offering some political and cultural blueprint for a certainsocial order.Political ideologies are concerned with many different aspects of a society, including but not limited to: theeconomy,thegovernment,theenvironment,education,health care,labor law,criminal law,thejustice system,social securityandwelfare,public policy and administration,foreign policy,rights,freedomsandduties,citizenship,immigration,cultureandnational identity,militaryadministration, andreligion.

Political ideologies have two dimensions:

1. Goals: how society should work; and
2. Methods: the most appropriate ways to achieve the ideal arrangement.

A political ideology largely concerns itself with how to allocatepowerand to what ends power should be used. Some parties follow a certain ideology very closely, while others may take broad inspiration from a group of related ideologies without specifically embracing any one of them. Each political ideology contains certain ideas on what it considers the bestform of government(e.g.,democracy,demagogy,theocracy,caliphateetc.), scope of government (e.g.authoritarianism,libertarianism,federalism,etc.) and the besteconomic system(e.g.capitalism,socialism,etc.). Sometimes the same word is used to identify both an ideology and one of its main ideas. For instance,socialismmay refer to an economic system, or it may refer to an ideology that supports that economic system. Post 1991, many commentators claim that we are living in a post-ideological age,in which redemptive, all-encompassing ideologies have failed. This view is often associated withFrancis Fukuyama's writings on theend of history.Contrastly, Nienhueser (2011) sees research (in the field ofhuman resource management) as ongoingly "generating ideology".

There are many proposed methods for the classification of political ideologies. Ideologies can identify themselves by their position on thepolitical spectrum(e.g.left,center,orright). They may also be distinguished bysingle issuesaround which they may be built (e.g.civil libertarianism,supportoropposition to European integration,legalization of marijuana). They may also be distinguished bypolitical strategies(e.g.populism,personalism). The classification of political ideology is difficult, however, due tocultural relativityin definitions. For example, "what Americans now callconservatismmuch of the world callsliberalismorneoliberalism";aconservatism in Finlandwould be labeledsocialism in the United States.

PhilosopherMichael Oakeshottdefines single-issue ideologies as "the formalized abridgment of the supposed sub-stratum of the rational truth contained in the tradition". Moreover, Charles Blattberg offers an account that distinguishes politicalideologiesfrompoliticalphilosophies.

Slavoj Žižek argues how the very notion of post-ideology can enable the deepest, blindest form of ideology. A sort of false consciousness or false cynicism, engaged in for the purpose of lending one's point of view the respect of being objective, pretending neutral cynicism, without truly being so. Rather than help avoiding ideology, this lapse only deepens the commitment to an existing one. Zizek calls this "apost-modernisttrap ".Peter Sloterdijkadvanced the same idea already in 1988.

Studies have shown that political ideology is somewhat geneticallyheritable.

Ideology and state

Main article:Ideocracy

When a political ideology becomes a dominantly pervasive component within a government, one can speak of anideocracy.Different forms of government use ideology in various ways, not always restricted to politics and society. Certain ideas and schools of thought become favored, or rejected, over others, depending on their compatibility with or use for the reigning social order.

InThe Anatomy of Revolution,Crane Brintonsaid that new ideology spreads when there is discontent with an old regime.The may be repeated during revolutions itself; extremists such asVladimir LeninandRobespierremay thus overcome more moderate revolutionaries.This stage is soon followed byThermidor,a reining back ofrevolutionaryenthusiasm underpragmatistslike Napoleon andJoseph Stalin,who bring "normalcyand equilibrium ".Brinton's sequence ( "men of ideas>fanatics>practical men of action ") is reiterated byJ. William Fulbright,while a similar form occurs inEric Hoffer'sThe True Believer.The revolution thus becomes established as anideocracy,though its rise is likely to be checked by a 'political midlife crisis.'

Epistemological ideologies

Even when the challenging of existing beliefs is encouraged, as in scientific theories, the dominantparadigmormindsetcan prevent certain challenges, theories, or experiments from being advanced. A special case of science that has inspired ideology is ecology, which studies the relationships among living things on Earth. Perceptual psychologistJames J. Gibsonbelieved that human perception of ecological relationships was the basis ofself-awarenessandcognitionitself.LinguistGeorge Lakoffhas proposed acognitive science of mathematicswherein even the most fundamental ideas of arithmetic would be seen as consequences or products of human perception—which is itself necessarily evolved within an ecology.

Deep ecologyand the modernecology movement(and, to a lesser degree,Green parties) appear to have adopted ecological sciences as a positive ideology.Some notable economically based ideologies includeneoliberalism,monetarism,mercantilism,mixed economy,social Darwinism,communism,laissez-faireeconomics, andfree trade.There are also current theories of safe trade andfair tradethat can be seen as ideologies.

Psychological explanations of ideology

A large amount of research inpsychologyis concerned with the causes, consequences and content of ideology,with humans being dubbed the "ideological animal" by Althusser.Many theories have tried to explain the existence of ideology in human societies.

Jost, Ledgerwood, and Hardin (2008) propose that ideologies may function as prepackaged units ofinterpretationthat spread because of basic human motives to understand the world, avoidexistential threat,and maintain valuedinterpersonal relationships.The authors conclude that such motives may lead disproportionately to the adoption of system-justifyingworldviews.Psychologists generally agree thatpersonality traits,individual difference variables, needs, and ideological beliefs seem to have something in common.

Just-world theoryposits that people want to believe in a fair world for a sense of control and security and generate ideologies in order to maintain this belief, for example by justifiying inequality or unfortunate events. A critique of just world theory as a sole explanation of ideology is that it does not explain the differences between ideologies.

Terror management theoryposits that ideology is used as adefence mechanismagainst threats to their worldview which in turn protect and individuals sense ofself-esteemand reduce their awareness of mortality. Evidence shows that priming individuals with an awareness of mortality does not cause individuals to respond in ways underpinned by any particular ideology, but rather the ideology that they are currently aware of.

System justification theoryposits that people tend to defend existing society, even at times against their interest, which in turn causes people to create ideological explanations to justify the status quo. Jost, Fitzimmons and Kay argue that the motivation to protect a preexisting system is due to a desire for cognitive consistency (being able to think in similar ways over time), reducinguncertaintyand reducing effort, illusion of control and fear of equality.According to system justification theory,ideologies reflect (unconscious)motivational processes,as opposed to the view that political convictions always reflect independent and unbiased thinking.

Ideology and the social sciences

Semiotic theory

According to semioticianBob Hodge:

[Ideology] identifies a unitary object that incorporates complex sets of meanings with the social agents and processes that produced them. No other term captures this object as well as 'ideology'.Foucault's 'episteme' is too narrow and abstract, not social enough. His 'discourse', popular because it covers some of ideology's terrain with less baggage, is too confined to verbal systems. 'Worldview' is toometaphysical,'propaganda' too loaded. Despite or because of its contradictions, 'ideology' still plays a key role in semiotics oriented to social, political life.

Authors such asMichael Freedenhave also recently incorporated asemanticanalysis to the study of ideologies.

Sociology

Sociologistsdefineideologyas "cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality".Dominant groups use these sets of cultural beliefs and practices to justify the systems of inequality that maintain their group's social power over non-dominant groups. Ideologies use a society's symbol system to organize social relations in ahierarchy,with some social identities being superior to other social identities, which are considered inferior. The dominant ideology in a society is passed along through the society's major social institutions, such as the media, the family, education, and religion.As societies changed throughout history, so did the ideologies that justified systems of inequality.

Sociological examples of ideologies includeracism,sexism,heterosexism,ableism,andethnocentrism.

Quotations

• "We do not need…to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities. The need for a sense of universal responsibility affects every aspect of modern life." —Dalai Lama
• "The function of ideology is to stabilize and perpetuate dominance through masking or illusion." —Sally Haslanger
• "[A]n ideology differs from a simple opinion in that it claims to possess either the key to history, or the solution for all the 'riddles of the universe,' or the intimate knowledge of the hidden universal laws, which are supposed to rule nature and man." —Hannah Arendt

See also

• The Anatomy of Revolution
• Capitalism
• Dogma
• Feminism
• Hegemony
• -ism
• List of communist ideologies
• List of ideologies named after people
• Ideocracy
• Noble lie
• Politicisation
• Social criticism
• Socially constructed reality
• State collapse
• State ideology of the Soviet Union
• The True Believer
• World Values Survey
• World view

References

Bibliography

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• Belloni, Claudio. 2013.Per la critica dell’ideologia:Filosofia e storia in Marx.Milan: Mimesis.
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• Lukács, Georg.[1967] 1919–1923.History and Class Consciousness,translated by R. Livingstone. Merlin Press.
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• Marx, Karl.[1845–46] 1932.The German Ideology.
• Minogue, Kenneth.1985.Alien Powers: The Pure Theory of Ideology.Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN0-312-01860-6.
• Minar, David W. 1961. "Ideology and Political Behavior."Midwest Journal of Political Science5(4):317–331.doi:10.2307/2108991.JSTOR2108991.
• Mullins, Willard A. 1972.:)) "On the Concept of Ideology in Political Science."American Political Science Review66(2):498–510.doi:10.2307/1957794.
• Owen, John. 2011.The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States, and Regime Change, 1510–2010.Princeton University Press.ISBN0-691-14239-4.
• Pinker, Steven.2002.The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature.New York:Penguin Group.ISBN0-670-03151-8.
• Sorce Keller, Marcello.2007. "Why is Music so Ideological, Why Do Totalitarian States Take It So Seriously: A Personal View from History, and the Social Sciences."Journal of Musicological Research26(2–3):91–122.
• Steger, Manfred B., and Paul James. 2013. "Levels of Subjective Globalization: Ideologies, Imaginaries, Ontologies."Perspectives on Global Development and Technology12(1–2):17–40.doi:10.1163/15691497-12341240
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External links

• The Pervert's Guide to Ideology:How Ideology Seduces Us – and How We Can (Try to) Escape It
• Ideology Study Guide
• Louis Althusser's "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses"