Ideology (Concept of)

Ideology - about the 'isms' of politics and the prevalence of IDEAS in politics; these determine HOW WE LOOK AT THINGS, and can be influenced by PARTISAN BELIEFS - they mean that people CIRCUMVENT the decision-making process and jump to conclusions - unwilling to consider evidence;  contributes to the POST-TRUTH ERA and depoliticisation; a CONFIRMATION BIAS formed, where individuals screen evidence SELECTIVELY - HEURISTIC responses

History of ideology: began with A.D de Tracy; proclaimed a 'science of ideas' as a new field of study, focussing on why people think like they do - empirical psychology - however, Tracy saw this as a basis for a rational. and progressive society - wanted to promote LIBERAL ideas - so study is ideological itself? C.Jones - "allowing social groups to make sense of the world"

HOWEVER, this was challenged by Napoleon - he saw ideologues like Tracy as 'armchair metaphysicians' - did not want to get into abstract values, but wanted to protect authority - believed that ideology was all about DOCTRINES and what we call 'ISMS'

Key features of an ideology - PROBLEM at the time, - VISION, and - A METHOD

Marxism sees a PROBLEM (capitalism), a SOLUTION (get rid of it) and a METHOD (revolution for most) - however, Marx opposed ideologies in general - saw them as idealist, bourgeois and an instrument of control - called Tracy a 'bourgeois doctrinaire' - argued that the "ideas of the ruling class are in ever epoch the ruling ideas" - a 'system of oppression'

- Supported by Engels who saw ideology as a "false consciousness", with ideologues being STUBBORN AND DOGMATIC - unwilling to change and compromise

Marx - saw ideology as concerned with SOCIAL RELATIONS - an anti-Hegelian view, which emerged from the economic situation of many people - however, he did not believe that the bourgeoisie were CYNICALLY using ideoloy to oppress - more of a 'hidden system of oppression' - ideology was the 'mental resolution' of class interests - led to oppression and indoctrination by the bourgeoisie

Lenin - different - saw socialism as an ideology, but was anti-bourgeois - ideology as DOCTRINE; Gramsci - ideology as 'hegemony'; the ruling class holds an ideological hegemony over society, reflecting the state and capitalism; had to be overcome through STRUGGLE; supported by Althusser, who saw an 'ideological state apparatus' that dominated the people, or subjects - this ideology was viewed as 'eternal' without struggle - theory of INTERPELLATION

Mannheim - challenged Marx with a paradox - how can DISCOURSE ABOUT IDEOLOGY NOT BE IDEOLOGICAL IN ITSELF - Marxism not 'scientific', but ideological? Trying to escape the view of oppression that Marx suggested

Two conceptions - PARTICULAR - ideology as a SET OF IDEAS relating to group interests; and TOTAL - ideology relating to the WHOLE OF SOCIETY and a WORLD VIEW - more doctrinaire; Mannheim saw knowledge as RELATIVE, and we need to study the SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE - how? Would this be IDEOLOGICAL? Only a 'free intelligentsia' can; however, we all have IDEOLOGICAL PRECONCEPTIONS - so what is the status of ideology?

Arendt: 'ideologies can explain every occurence - a deceptive means of control', or Oakeshott - 'ideology is pernicious abstract theorising' - anti-metaphysical; sees ideology as imposing a framework on reality which is too rigid and unchanging; Mingoue - ideology privileges SOME GROUPS OVER OTHERS - for example, Marxism privileges the worker - unfair on all other groups

Zizek - ideology is an 'illusion' which generates 'dark fantasies' for people and removes all notions of 'the Real'; Goodwin - no such thing as an AUTONOMOUS IDEA - all ideas are CONTESTED CONCEPTS in terms of ideology

Freeden - ideology provides A VALUBALE INSIGHT; is pervasive and studies how 'the political' impacts lives; all ideologies have a CORE which is set, and OUTER LAYERS which can change; THICK-CENTRE (socialism - equality) or THIN-CENTRE (populism - harder to discover?) - vague

- Freeden - ideologies provide a mixture of emotion and reason - there can be some philosophical elements to ideology, and it can be seen as a MEANS OF UNDERSTANDING; provides a DISTINCT WAY OF EXAMINING IDEAS which forms part of the SOCIAL EXPERIENCE

Sartori - ideology seen as explanatory and useful, privileging theory and encouraging mass mobilisation; it is self-constraining, but can be viewed as INDOCTRINATION

Geertz - ideology is part of REPRESENTING CULTURE and helping us UNDERSTAND SOCIAL SITUATIONS - ideology as an 'indispensible part of life' - sees it as adaptable (change and revision), and promoting understanding and engagement with the social world we are part of

This argued that the END OF TOTALITARIANISM and rise of LIBERAL-DEMOCRACY meant that there was a general consensus on basic issues; there was now ideological consensus, and only room to tweak and revise the liberal-democratic framework

- Lipset - a 'fight without ideology', and freedom from ideology - Bell - 'no truth of old ideologies' anymore - a SCIENTIFIC VIEW of society was promoted instead

- FUKUYAMA - post-Cold War, saw the victory of liberal capitalism; history is the STRUGGLE OF IDEOLOGY, and now this was over - were we at the 'end of history'? - Fukuyama says yes; Hegelian - liberal capitalism as the optimum means of achieving happiness

HOWEVER: this thesis is ideological itself - it promotes liberal-democracy above all else as 'the truth' when there are many other ideologies at work around the world - a PARADOXICAL THESIS which is hugely subjective and difficult to prove empirically - for example, what of the rise of populism, dominance of Communist China and existence of nations like Cuba - so subjective that Fukuyama himself has accepted the flaws of this

- MACINTYRE - 'end of ideology is an ideological expression'; Saskena - cites the 2008 crisis as a failure of liberal-democracy - not hegemonic; Camargo - there is 'no universal truth', and ideologies provide different lenses for different people

Ideology today can be considered a GRAND NARRATIVE that allows for the interpretation of reality - more in line with Camargo - it is a less pejorative term; seen by Downs as a 'RACE TO THE CENTRE' - trying to become more moderate, as ideology is still viewed negatively as 'extremist'? Ideology now refers to political parties - most ideological is most extreme

- IDEOLOGIES are not globally coherent - a UK conservative is like a US Democrat, and liberalism has a different meaning in each nation

KEY FEATURES OF IDEOLOGY: - a belief; - explanatory power; - persuasive ability; - empirically verifiable - ideology now attempts to 'reconcile the irreconcilable'; viewed by FOUCAULT as 'power' - discourse in ideologies relfect the balance of power - there is no such thing as an AUTONOMOUS IDEA, as all discourse reflects POWER RELATIONS

Populism - is this an ideology? Has certain features - a monolithic, holistic society; - anti-establishment rhetoric; - authoritarian leaership and - nativism; seen to be CAUSED by either ECONOMIC INSECURITY or CULTURAL BACKLASH - mainly backlash - Norris + Inglehart

- HOWEVER, populism may be THIN-CENTRED - Freeden - has a problem, a vision, but no clear FUTURE PLAN of how they would achieve this? Freeden - populism ISN'T an IDEOLOGY

de Tracy - the 'science of ideas'; definitions also by C.Jones

Napoleon - anti-ideology

Marx; Engels; Lenin; Gramsci; Althusser - Marxist conceptions (slightly different)

Mannheim - paradox of ideology

Arendt; Oakeshott; Minogue; Zizek - other pejorative views

Goodwin - ideology as contestation

Freeden; Sartori; Geertz - ideology as positive

Hegel; Bell; Lipset; Fukuyama - the end of history/liberal capitalism succeeding

MacIntyre; Saksena; Camargo - opposed to end of ideology thesis

Norris + Inglehart - causes of populism

Downs - ideology today as a 'race to the centre'