The Role Of Ideology In Politics

It is said that ideologies are usually patterned beliefs. The degree of organization is considerably different from ideology to ideology. Yet, the fundamental pattern of each ideology remains fairly stable (T. Sargent 2009). The term ideology was most likely coined first by the French philosopher, Count Destutt de Tracy, who used the term in the 1700s for describing the more specific definition of the science of ideas (http://www.wisegeek.org). An ideology is a system of values and beliefs regarding the various institutions and processes of society that is accepted as fact or truth by a group of people. An ideology provides the believer with a picture of the world both as it is and as it should be, organizing the tremendous complexity of the

Ideology is thus defined as an orientation, characterizing the mentality and the way of thinking of a group or community (http://topics.wisegeek.org). In politics, ideology often specifies or ascertains whom one votes for. Conservatives generally tend to vote for Republican candidates and liberals tend to vote for Democratic candidates. Basically and on a more global scale, ideologies heavily influence political parties, leaders, and also policies. Sometimes people’s ideologies have led them to cause revolutions, wars, and genocide. As a result, understanding the various major political ideologies is fundamental to understand political science (http://www.sparknotes.com). Now ideology might be defined as a fairly relevant and pervasive set of ideas, explaining and evaluating social conditions, helping people understand their place in society, and providing a program for social and political action. According to the Professor of Arizona State University, Terence Ball’s book, Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal (2014), an ideology stands for four functions as

It performs a programmatic or prescriptive function by setting out a general program of social and political action. In fact, political ideologies prescribe remedies for sick societies and treatments designed to keep the healthy ones in good health. If an ideology provides a diagnosis of social condition that leads one to believe that conditions are bad and growing worse, it will not be likely to win him/her support unless it can also supply a program for action. This is exactly what ideologies try to do. If one is a communist, for example, he/she believes it is important to raise awareness of the working-class for preparing the overthrow of capitalism. If one is a Nazi, he/she thinks it is crucial for the “superior” white race to isolate and subordinate- Jews, blacks, and other inferior peoples. Different ideologies recommend very different programs of action but all suggest a program of some sort (Ball et al. 2014,