Meaning of Ideology: Political Ideology

Antoine Destutt de Tracy (1754-1836) coined the term Ideology during the
French Revolution and subsequently used in public in 1796. Idéologie according
to Tracy is a new 'science of ideas" from a literal term idea-logy (Heywood,
2012). Ideology becomes a political weapon to condemn or criticize opposing
arrays of ideas or belief system. Beliefs are people's assessment of reality and
what they hold to be true whereas, Values are people's ideas about right and
wrong. Therefore, when beliefs and values are put together in a coherent
system, they form an ideology.

Some of the meanings attached to ideology as enumerated by Heywood are: a

political belief system; an action — oriented set of political ideas; the ideas of
the ruling class; the world view of a particular social class or social group;
political ideas that embody or articulate class or social interests; ideas that
propagate false consciousness amongst the exploited or oppressed; ideas that
state the individual within a social context and generate a sense of collective
belonging; an officially sanctioned set of ideas used to legitimate a political
system or regime; an all-embracing political doctrine that claims a monopoly of
truth; and an abstract and highly systematic set of political ideas. Thus, Political
ideologies could be seen as commitments in order to change political system
(Roskins, etc., 2012).

An ideology is a collection of ideas. Typically, each ideology contains certain

ideas on what it considers to be the best form of government (e.g. democracy
or autocracy) and the best economic system (e.g. capitalism or socialism).
Sometimes the same word is used to identify both an ideology and one of its
main ideas. For instance, "socialism" may refer to an economic system, or it
may refer to an ideology which supports that economic system. Political
ideology is a term fraught with problems, having been called "the most elusive
concept in the whole of social science”, [1] However, ideologies tend to identify
themselves by their position on the political spectrum (such as the left, the
center or the right), though this is very often controversial. Finally, ideologies
can be distinguished from political strategies (e.g. populism) and from single
issues that a party may be built around (e.g. opposition to European integration
or the legalization of marijuana). There are several studies that show that
political ideology is heritable within families.

Distinguished Ideologies from Ideas (Macridis in Ranney, 1995)

❖ Comprehensiveness.

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An ideology covers ideas pertaining many great matters, such as human beings
place in the universal domain, man's relationship to the Divine being, the
highest goals of society and government, the essential nature of people, and
the best means of achieving the highest social and political objectives.
❖ Pervasiveness.
The set of ideas has not only been known for a long time but has shaped the
political beliefs and actions of many people. Before Christ, democracy,
oligarchy, and autocracy are widely talked about, and that great movement has
fought those ideologies for over 2,000 years.
❖ Extensiveness.
The set of ideas is held by a large number of people and plays a vital role in
nations and states political affairs.
❖ Intensiveness.
The set of ideas commands a strong commitment from many of its adherents
and significantly influences political beliefs and actions.

Characteristics of Ideology
❖ Ideologies have their levels end in —ism.
❖ Ideologies provide an explanation for problems that confronts modern societies by
providing futuristic vision.
❖ Ideology is action-oriented.
❖ Ideologies mobilize a large number of people.

Features of ideology (Heywood, 2012)

❖ It offers an account of the existing order, usually in the form of a 'world
view'.
❖ It advances a model of the desired future, a vision of the good society.
❖ It explains how political change can and should be brought about- how to get
from the two other features.

Intellectual Components of an Ideology

❖ Values.
❖ The vision of the Ideal Polity.
❖ The conception of the Human Nature.
❖ The strategy of Action.
❖ Political Tactics.

Functions of Ideologies.
❖ Ideology addresses a basic human psychological needs such as safety, freedom, and
community.
❖ Ideology provides its believers with a sense of understanding history and with clues about what
kinds of things they should pay attention to or ignore.

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❖ Ideology is essential.
❖ Ideology is powerful.

Societal Role of Ideologies

❖ Ideologies answer eternal questions and cut off competing beliefs and values;
❖ Ideologies explain how the universe works and why it works that way; and
❖ Ideologies tell us how to behave; they help us predict the future.

Political Ideologies
1. Liberalism (The Left)
The term Liberalism derived from the Latin word "liber" which
means "free men" in short, men who were neither serfs nor slaves. A
view that sees more need for change and improvement in social
relations requiring governmental involvement (Schrems, 2011) and that
society must be free, if it is possible, free from government intervention
(Moten and Islam, 2011 It supports promoting the individual welfare and
supporting civil rights and accepts peaceful political, social change within
the existing political system.
It is a belief that man is generally good and that his ability to
reason allows him to attain economic, political, and social progress
(Dooley, 2013). Thus, the central theme of liberal ideology is a
commitment to the individual and the desire to construct a society in
which man can satisfy their interests and achieve fulfillment (Heywood,
2012).

Set of values and beliefs of Liberalism (Heywood, 2012)

❖ Individualism. It is the belief in the supreme importance of the
individual over any social group or collective body.
❖ Freedom. The ability to think or act as one wishes, a capacity that can
be associated with the individual, a social group or a nation. Belief in the
supreme importance of the individual leads naturally to a commitment
to individual freedom. Individual liberty is the supreme political value
and the unifying principle of liberal ideology.
❖ Reason. The power of reason gives human beings the capacity to take
charge of their own lives and fashion their own destinies. Humankind

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was emancipated from the grip of the past and the weight of custom
and tradition.
❖ Justice. It is a moral standard of fairness and impartiality. It is as well
denotes giving what is due to each person.
❖ Toleration. It is forbearance. Willingness to accept views or action
with which one is in disagreement.

Two types of liberalism

❖ Classical liberalism as Heywood (2012) puts it, subscribed to
egotistical individualism; have a belief in negative freedom; the state is
regarded at best as a 'necessary evil'; and have a broadly positive view of
civil society.
❖ Neoliberalism posits that states are constantly interacting with each
other and that they value cooperation as part of their own interest. It
further refers to the revival of economic liberalism. It is equated with a
belief in market fundamentalism — the absolute faith in the market,
reflecting the belief that the market mechanism offers solutions to all
economic and social problems.

2. Conservatism (The Right)

The term "conservatism" derived from the term conservation. It is a
political philosophy that tends to support the status quo and advocates
change only in moderation upholding the value of tradition and seeks to
preserve all that is good about the past (Dooley, 2013). A point of view
that emphasizes tradition and established institutions and give greater
attention to social entities than to individuals having the inclination to
oppose any change in political environment.
3. Social Democracy
It is a moderate or reformist brand of socialism that favor a balance
between the market and the state rather than the abolition of
capitalism. It is an ideological stance that supports a full balance
between market capitalism, on the one hand, and state intervention, on
the other side. Social democracy lacks a systematic underlying theory
and is inherently vague (Heywood, 2011). Moreover, it is the mildest
form of socialism, stressing welfare measure but not state ownership of
industry (Roskins, 2012).

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Social Democrats, according to Roskins, et. al (2012), have abandoned
the state property. They further said that social democracies have
become welfare states that focus on the improvement of living
conditions such as unemployment and medical insurance, generous
pensions, and subsidized food and housing.
4. Communism
It is an economic, social, and political system seeking government
ownership of the means production and services directed by a process
of scientific administration and universal asset (Schrems, 2011). It is an
extreme left-wing ideology. Based on the revolutionary socialist
teachings of Karl Marx, characterized by collective ownership and a plan
economy. Thus, each should work to their capability and will receive
according to their needs.

5. Fascism
Fascism is a movement that stands for outmoded, repressive social and
political conditions rejecting democracy, repudiates constitutionalism
and stresses that all values arise from the state against which the
individual has no rights. Moreover, authentic freedom is in subjugation
to an authoritarian, totalitarian and omnipotent state thus, rejecting
equality and replaces the principle of hierarchy to a supreme leader
whose will is law (Moten and Islam, 2011). Fascism has a strong anti-
rational, ant liberal, anti-conservative, anticapitalism, anti-bourgeois,
anti-communist and so on.

Salient Features of Fascism: ❖ Totalitarianism ❖ Nationalism ❖ Anti –

liberalism ❖ Militarism and Violence ❖ Leadership
7. Socialism
The term socialism derived from the word 'socialist' in Latin social
meaning to combine or to share. As Schrems (2011) puts it, socialism is
an economic and political doctrine advocating governmental ownership
and direction of production and services but which would retain existing
institution as the means of regulating them. It is also viewed as an
ideology which opposed capitalism and tries to provide a more humane
and socially valuable substitute. Moreover, socialism adheres to social
equality which is the main way to attain social stability and cohesion
(Heywood,2011).

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Distinctive ways of understanding socialism:
❖ Socialism is seen as an economic model.
❖ Socialism as an instrument of the labor movement.
❖ Socialism as a political creed encompasses community, cooperation,
equality, class politics and collective ownership.

8. Feminism
Feminism is, derive from a Latin word Femina meaning women or
female, concerned with the attainment of gender equality in the
political, economic and social spheres of life. Its primary focus is the
position of women in the society. The basic idea of feminism is: that
women experience a poor state in society as a consequence of the
patriarchy, male domination of women, which has historically
characterized all social relationships and that this disadvantage can and
should be overthrown (Heywood, 2012). Feminists contend that
patriarchy continues to be manifested in the systematic deprivation of
individual choices, political power, economic opportunities, and
intellectual recognition currently experienced by women.

9. Environmentalism
Environmentalism is an ideology focusing on the idea that
environment is endangered and must be preserved through regulation
and lifestyle changes (Roskin [Link]., 2012). Its concern is about the
natural environment and particularly about reducing environmental
degradation that is more of a policy orientation rather than an
ideological stance (Heywood, 2012). The regulation was only part of the
environmental credo.

10. Anarchism
The belief that the best government is absolutely no government is
known as anarchism. This ideology argues that everything about
governments is repressive and therefore must be abolished entirely. A
related ideology known as nihilism emphasizes that everything—both
government and society—must be periodically destroyed in order to
start anew. Nihilists often categorically reject traditional concepts of
morality in favor of violence and terror. Anarchism and nihilism were

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once associated with socialism because many anarchists and nihilists
supported the socialists’ call for revolution and the complete overhaul of
government and society in the early to mid-twentieth century.

11. Libertarianism
This is another version of anarchism but involves the government
in a minimal role such as ensuring the safety of everyone and fairness in
whatever contracts or dealing (Sargent, 2009).
Learning about political ideologies is advantageous in
understanding certain political contexts. In the Philippines, different
political ideologies like Marxism and communism have affected different
political-historical events such as the First Quarter storm during the
Marcos dictatorship and the formulation of defend insurgents in the
country like the New People’s Armey (NPA) of the Communist Party of
the Philippines (CPP).
There are other ideologies depending on the issue or aspects of
human life one is studying. There are also new ideologies that may crop
up. Remember that multitude and complexity of some issues in politics
and governance, we cannot be all too liberal or all too conservative.

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