The essence of ideology. (2023)

The essence of ideology.

This essay is from a second policy topic, Key Concepts and Thinkers, which I really liked. Again because it was hard work and I might as well do it.somethingwith him, here he is.

To what extent do political ideologies imply a better knowledge or understanding of the past, present or future of human society? Are all these political ideologies "overloaded" with assumptions? Discuss using at least two examples.

introduction

Political ideologies are widely accepted collections of ideas based on the priorities and beliefs of the groups from which they emerge. They are political constructs, part of the power struggle within and between societies, and as such seek to define how and why political power should be exercised, defined primarily by the priorities, assumptions, and agendas of the groups from which they originate. They are a filter through which their followers interpret, prioritize, and possibly discard information about the world around them. However, the central ideas of these ideologies are always based on assumptions that presuppose a superior knowledge or understanding of the political society on the part of the adherents of this ideology.

Definition of ideology

The modern conception of ideology was conceived largely as a product of socialist thought, beginning with Marx and Engels. They explained the ideology as a false consciousness that reinforced the dominant values ​​of the time. This is an important step in understanding ideology, as it establishes that ideology is a frame of thought in which reality resides and through which it is interpreted. However, Marx and Engels were primarily concerned with the critique of industrial capitalism, which prevented them from considering the nature of ideology more broadly. They lived in the face of society's political fragmentation and viewed ideology as monolithic. InGerman ideology, They write:

“The ideas of the ruling class are always the ruling ideas: that is, the class that is the ruling class.MaterialStrength in society is also its powerintellectualStrength. The class that has the material means of production also controls the intellectual means of production, so that the ideas of those who lack the intellectual means of production are generally subject to it. (Marx and Engels 1976, p. 59)

Although today's society is more ideologically diverse, the idea of ​​ideology as a thought abstraction superimposed on reality is still relevant. Moreover, as Marxism developed, it acquired its own false consciousness, such as the persistent division of all social life and activities into the spheres of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, or the famous Soviet blindness to any reality that exhibited “wrong politics”. " . “. Ideologies are primarily a set of principles that put truth before evidence, articles of belief that shape all thought that emanates from them (Minogue 1994, pp. 11-12).

All ideologies arise from the needs and perspectives of their groups of origin in their historical environment, and all ideologies presuppose a superior knowledge of human society. These assumptions form the common precepts that allow a particular belief system to be defined as an ideology. It is in the nature of ideology to claim privileged access to truth.

liberalism

Liberalism was the defining ideology of the post-Enlightenment. Although its modern forms are varied and often nebulous, it has been defined by certain principles from its origins. Liberalism is the ideology of western democracy and is strongly linked to capitalism. Its growth was linked to the rise of the middle class in Europe, which rationalized the reduced power of the aristocracy. Liberalism was at the center of the Enlightenment and thus of modern times.

The central commitment of liberalism is the value of the individual. It states that every human being has the same moral worth, that all human beings have fundamental rights and that the state must be organized to protect these rights, with the discourse within liberalism mainly debating how this can best be achieved. It is characterized by rationalism, government by consent, constitutionalism, the defense of private property, and the "harm" principle (that governments should not violate individual liberty except to prevent harm to others) (Heywood 1997, pp. 41-2 ).

Liberals are victims of grand declarations of human rights that are seldom carried out. One of the earliest and most influential was the preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence. Sometimes it says:

“We hold these truths for granted, that all human beings are created equal, that their Creator endowed them with certain inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That in order to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men who derive their just powers from the consent of the governed..." (US National Archives)

The writers of these sublime words founded a nation that enforced slavery for nearly a century.

Similar declarations are the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. These fundamentally liberal declarations make sweeping claims about the reality of the rights of all mankind, but at best they merely provide a framework of intentions for forms of government. Belief in these fundamental rights and dignity is liberalism's most blatantly unsubstantiated claim to exclusive knowledge, but all of the basic principles outlined above are widely accepted in the faith.

conservatism

Conservatism is both an attitude and an ideology, but it can be defined in terms of specific principles. Born in response to the French Revolution (particularly in the writings of Edmund Burke), conservatism resists radical change based on abstract theories, instead promoting respect for the institutions of the past. Conservatives are cynical about human nature and self-confident about the limited ability of human endeavor to bring about positive change. Conservatives view the traditional order as enduring and sacred, a trust passed down from generation to generation. They see the existing hierarchy as the result of natural merit (Festenstein & Kelly 2005, pp. 119-121, Heywood 1994, pp. 44-46).

Conservatism wears its truth claims on its sleeve. Everything would be better, Conservatives argue, if people just accepted their place. The problem with this, of course, is that those who embrace conservatism are already doing pretty well. Slaves, serfs, beaten wives, and workers under Dickensian conditions do not write treatises on the merits of the system that persecutes them. Conservatism are those who already have power and justify their possessions by having them in the first place.

optimistic model

For an ideology to be successful, it must be attractive, so the claims of ideologies are usually good news for those who appeal to them. For example, no popular ideology posits a doomed humanity. For the most part they assume the continued survival and prosperity of humanity, regardless of whether the physical universe is likely to facilitate this. Assuming a continuous human society, disregarding the Malthusian economy, the inevitable densification that accompanies unchecked population growth (see US Census Bureau 2009), or the myriad ways in which civilization could be destroyed overnight, they prove to be based on assumptions . instead of empirical understanding. Ultimately, the pursuit of individualism and the continuation of traditional ways will be impossible when twenty billion people occupy the space that less than one billion occupied when the state system was formed. Other things being equal, a city dweller necessarily has less freedom than a settler, and citizens may have fewer freedoms as their state's population grows, but no space has been made for this in the liberal tradition.

This, of course, is part of how ideologies become popular. The promise of an ever-evolving civilization is a powerful part of the appeal of progressive ideologies, just as conservatism's legitimacy of privilege is an important part of its appeal.

rationalization of power

To a large extent, ideologies were created in the wake of a new power rather than triggering shifts in power themselves. For example, liberalism retrospectively justified a shift in power to the middle class; conservatism put an intellectual mask on resistance to the disempowerment of the aristocracy, socialism and marxism demanded the handover of power to the workers when the unionists had already seized it (Hutt 1975, pp. 7-11). Second wave feminism demanded empowerment when World War II and the right to vote had already granted it to some extent. Much as monastic academics speak of environmentalism as the end of anthropocentrism, it is the threat of human harm that has reprioritized power and created the green movement, for example when Rachel Carson exposed the dangers of pesticides in the food chain (Heywood 1994, p. 59, Festenstein & Kenny 2005, pp. 327-8). In a way, ideology is just the flow of royalist power struggles. Therefore, the assumptions of any ideology are those that benefit the group from which the ideology emerges.

Think neoconservatism. It is primarily defined by its supporters' belief in the benevolent effects of US military power on the world political order and the assumption that it can be used effectively to advance liberal universalist beliefs. The members of his group are privileged English-speaking members of the foreign policy elite, hence their willingness to accept world politics imposed by force.American Peace. Neoconservatism emerged after the Cold War, when this foreign policy elite suddenly found itself more powerful than ever, with no justification for using it. The exercise of this power began almost immediately with the Gulf War, but not until 1997.policy statementproject for the new American century that began to develop on an ideological basis (PNAC 1997).

Diploma

The core values ​​of all ideologies are based on assumptions shaped by the values ​​of the groups from which they emerge. They justify and defend the power and privilege of these groups and appeal to the human desire to see the universe as inherently hospitable to them. To the extent that the ideologue believes in the ideology, these beliefs are not subject to criticism, analysis, or revision. Ideologies frame power struggles in a paradigm favorable to their adherents, putting a more acceptable face on what is often harsh reality.

References:

Festenstein, M. and Kenny, M. 2005,political ideologies, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Heywood, A. 1997,Politics,MacMillan Press Ltd., London

Hutt, A. 1975,British Unionism: A Brief History, CamelotPress Ltd., Southampton

Carril, R. 1962,Political Ideology: Why the Average American Believes in What They Do, Free Press, New York

Marx, K. y Engels, F. 1932,German ideology, emComplete work vol. 5, Lawrence and Wishart (eds.)

McLean, I. 1996,Prägnantes Oxford Dictionary of Politics, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Minogue, K. 1994, “Ideology after the collapse of Communism”, inThe end of the "isms", Shtromas, A. & Blackwell, B. (Hrsg.), Policy Studies Association

Project for the New American Century, 1997,policy statement, consulted 30.03.2010, available athttp://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm

United States National Archives 2010,the declaration of Independence, consulted 2010-03-27, available athttp://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

United States Census Bureau 2009,World Population: 1950-2050, consulted 30.03.2010, available athttp://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.php