Ideology: Systematic Development of Our Ideas

Ahmad Reza Taheri  

 "Political scientists do not agree on the exact definition of the term ideology, but their opinions have enough in common to allow us to develop a five part definition for our purpose.

·         The term ideology can be used in many contexts, but unless otherwise specified, it is proper to give it a political meaning.

·         All ideologies provide an interpretation of the present and a view of a desired future. The anticipated future is usually thought to be attainable within a single generation.  

·         Each ideology includes a list of specific steps that can be taken to accomplish its goals.  

·         Ideologies are oriented toward the masses.

·         Ideologies are simply stated and presented in motivational terms."

The social and political institutions such as Socialism, Capitalism, Islam, and many other religions do have these above characteristics. Thus, in the context of political philosophy, these all are called ideology, provided that we stay out of our fanaticism. And, remember, in this note, we are not concerned with the "other contexts."

Prior to the birth of science and technology, people were discouraged from seeking solutions to their problems, problems such as the origin of Gods, origin of religions, etc. Only a few of them could puzzle out such problems. "Politics had not yet become democratized. Ordinary people were not allowed to participate in the political system. Politics was reserved for a small class such as the kings. Knowledge was to be revealed only by the so-called wise men of the time. Ordinary people were to understand and conform to such knowledge as best they could. Consequently, little questioning or challenging took place, and naturally change came very slowly."

It is said that ideology was made necessary by the Age of Enlightenment. It might be because of the newness of the phenomenon. Enlightenment is considered to be the first fundamental social change in the human society, which has challenged the status quo and altered a large number of societies for good. "People could improve their conditions by taking positive actions instead of passively accepting life as it came. This was accompanied by the great economic and social upheaval caused by the mechanization of production (the earliest stage of the Industrial Revolution)."

It has been also argued that ideology is mainly political in nature. This can be true but only when we talk about a proper political society. "The term ideology is used first by the French in the early 19^th century. Most of the evidence indicates that the French noble and scholar Antonio Louis Claude Destutt de Tracy (1754 - 1836) probably originated the word. To him, ideology was a study of the process of forming ideas, a science of ideas. He believed that people could use science to improve social and political conditions."

Well, the origin of ideology, not as a term, but as a practice goes back to the formation of human societies where people had gods and religions, the longest lived doctrines of the societies.

Note by the author:  Wherever there are "inverted commas" in the note, it indicates that the phrase or sentence has been taken from the following sources. But, wherever there are no "inverted commas", it implies that no source has been used, rather the sentence/phrase is the thinking of the author himself.

Source: Leon P Baradat (professor), Political Ideologies (their origins and impact), 9^th edition, Indian reprint, published by Asoke K. Gosh, pp. 1-11.