Ideology

Important distinctions Episteme: true, well-

founded knowledge. Knowledge that can be

demonstrated by logical argument from first principles

Doxa: Opinion that may be true but

that believers cannot fully explain.

Plato (ca. 429-347 BC)

Ideology Ideology is a contemporary word for doxa. Ideology is a value or belief system that is

accepted as fact or truth by some group. It is composed of sets of attitudes towards the various institutions and processes of government. It provides the believer with a picture of the world.

Attributes of Ideology1. Not a mere personal opinion, but a social

believe accepted by a large number of people sand passed on by cultural transmission.

2. Involves a mixture of factual and moral beliefs. Includes believes about how people should act and what they should consider right and wrong.

Attributes of Ideology3. Reduces the infinite complexity of the

world into simpler ideas that can be understood by large numbers of people.

4. It is not a random collection of opinions, but a organized system of believes that fit together logically..

Left, Right and Centre

The use of left, right and centre started in 1789 in the French National Assembly.

Those who favoured reducing the monarch to a symbolic figure sat to the left of the chairman, those who wanted to retain substantive powers of the monarch sat to the right of the chairman.

Left, Right and Centre

Eventually this distinction took on a economic dimension as socialism developed in Europe.

Left was now used for those who wanted to reduce poverty through state redistribution of wealth.

Right became associated with private wealth creation.

Traditional Ideologies Liberalism Conservativism Socialism and Communism Nationalism

Liberalism Liberal comes from the Latin, liber,

meaning “free”. Liberalism has four principles that related to

freedom: Personal freedom Limited government Equality of right Consent of the governed

Conservativism Classical

conservatives are those who “prefer the familiar to the unknown”

It is better for human society not to embark on large-scale ventures of social transformation. Edmund Burke (1729-97)

Socialism Planning Common

ownership Equality of

Result Selflessness Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Socialism Family Tree

Nationalism A feeling of loyalty to one’s nation, a

recognition of ties with other members of one’s group. Aboriginal Nationalism Separatism

New Ideologies – Post-Materialist New generations take physical and

economic security for granted and tend to be more concerned with self-expression and “rights.” Feminism Environmentalism

Ideology and Canadian Politics Does the Conservative party not want any

change? Does today’s Canadian Liberal party uphold

the ideology of liberalism? Which party comes closest to the values of

socialism?

Multi-dimensional scaling