1. IDEOLOGIES – an introduction
Information sourced from
Heywood, A. (1998), Political Ideologies:
An introduction. Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire.

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Outline of Unit
What is ideology?
Core themes of different ideologies
The political spectrum

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WHAT IS ‘IDEOLOGY’?

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ISM’s!
We are basically going
to be looking at many
of the words ending in
–ism, such as
liberalism, conservatis
m, socialism, communi
sm, religious
fundamentalism, femi
nism, totalitarianism
etc.

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What is ideology?
• First thing to be clear on is that
there really is no clear and agreed
upon definition of ideology. It is a
difficult term to really define
properly.

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Some attempted definitions of ‘ideology’ 1
•A political belief system
• An action-orientated 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

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Some attempted definitions of ‘ideology’ 2
• Ideas that situate the individual within a
social context and generate a sense of
collective belonging
• An officially sanctioned set of ideas used
to legitimise a political system or regime
• An all-embracing political doctrine that
claims a monopoly of truth
• An abstract and highly systematic set of
political ideas

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Origin of the term
•The term was created during
the French Revolution by
Antoine Destutt de Tracy (1754-
1836), and first used in public
in 1796
• For de Tracy, idéologie
referred to a new „science of
ideas‟, or an idea-ology, like in
biology, or psychology.

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Origin of the term
The use of ideology as a “The ideas of the ruling class are in
political term has a lot to do every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e.
with the work of Karl Marx the class which is the ruling
(1818-1883) material force of society, is at the
same time the ruling intellectual
force. The class which has the
means of material production at its
disposal, has control at the same
time over the means of mental
production, so that thereby,
generally speaking, the ideas of
those who lack the means of
mental production are subject to
it”
Marx and Engels, The German
Ideology

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The definition we will use in our class:
An ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides the
basis for organised political action, whether this is intended to
preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power. All
ideologies therefore have the following features:
a) They offer an account of the existing order, usually in the form
of a „world view‟
b) They advance a model of a desired future, a vision of the „good
society‟
c) They explain how political change can and should be brought
about – how to get from (a) to (b)
Heywood, A (2007). Political Ideologies – An Introduction. Palgrave
Macmillan: New York.

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Take note!
It‟s important to realise that ideology
is not just something that is
important to politics or politicians.
Ideology influences all of our lives,
but it works in such a way that we
are often unaware of its influence!

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Think of
ideology as a
pair of goggles!
Whichever pair of
goggles you put on,
changes the way which
you see the world. It
allows you to interpret
the world and to make
decisions! Now you
must work out, which
ideology has already
influenced your way of
thinking and looking at
the world!

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Core themes
LIBERALISM

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This ideology is in a sense the ideology of the
‘industrialised West’
It has a focus on a particular set of values: the individual,
freedom, reason, justice, toleration

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Liberalism: The Individual
Liberalism emphasises the
importance of the individual, both
the uniqueness of each individual
and at the same time the equality
of all individuals.

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Liberalism: The Individual
Thus, liberalism emphasises a commitment
to individual freedom. This does not mean
though, that an individual is free to do
whatever they like. There are still
constraints on what you are actually
allowed to do, one constraint being that
you are not allowed to hurt another
individual.

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Liberalism: Faith in reason
Having faith in reason, or
the ability to use one‟s
intellect in taking action in
the world, is also a central
component

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Liberalism: Justice and tolerance
• Liberalslook at justice in that each
person should be given what they are
„due‟.
• Because individual rights are central, this
means that liberalism believes in tolerance
and pluralism, or the idea that different
moral, cultural and political cultures can
exist together.

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Where can I see evidence of liberalism today?
Everywhere! Have a look around,
and you will see that the ideas of
liberalism are central to our lives.
What examples of liberalism can
you find just by looking at your
school?

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Core themes
CONSERVATISM

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Conservatism: Core themes
Central beliefs of conservatism
are based around the ideas of:
• tradition
• human imperfection
• organic society
• hierarchy and authority
• property

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Conservatism: Tradition
• Conservatives argue for the
preservation of „tradition‟, in particular
with regards to values, practices and
institutions
• They see tradition as being one of the
foundations of society; without it, they
believe society would crumble.

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Conservatism: Humans are imperfect
Conservatives argue that human beings
are imperfect and not perfectible, thus
they will need stability and security in
their lives, which the government can
provide

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Conservatism: Organic society
Conservatives believe that human
beings cannot exist outside of society,
or the social groups that nurture
him/her, such as family, friends,
colleagues, local community, and the
nation

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Conservatism: Hierarchy and authority
Believe that society
is hierarchical, and
that authority (who
is on top or in
charge) develops
naturally

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Conservatism: Property
• Conservatives have a firm
belief in the importance of
owning property, and
encourage private savings and
investment in property;
property is seen to be a way of
creating a stable world.
• People are less likely to
damage someone else‟s
property if they also own
property.

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Liberalism vs. Conservatism
This is one of the oldest ideological divisions.
Watch the above video to identify some stereotypical liberal and conservative
traits.

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Liberalism vs. Conservatism
Can you make a list of the
differences between liberalism
and conservatism? Why would
they be opposed to one
another?

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Core themes
SOCIALISM

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Core Themes
• Community
• Cooperation
• Equality
• Class politics
• Common ownership

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Community
• Human beings are tied to one
another by the bonds of a common
humanity
• „We are all brothers and sisters‟

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View on human nature
• Belief in the plasticity of human
nature, or that humans can change and
be moulded by life experience
• Firm belief that humans are not
predestined, but have the capacity to
become something greater than what
they are

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Cooperation not competition
Socialists believe that the natural relationship
among humans is one of cooperation rather
than competition

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Equality
Socialists are committed to equality

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Social Class
Emphasis is on social class as the determining
factor of society
What do you notice about the boys in this picture?

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Common ownership
• Disagree with the idea of private
property, as they see this as one of the
causes of competition and therefore
social inequality.
• Thus, have a view that all property
should be communal
• „From each according to his ability, to
each according to his need‟ – Karl Marx

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Socialism vs. Communism
• These two ideologies are often confused with one
another
• The similarities and differences are quite difficult to
define
• Communism is thought to be a classless
society, where there is no hierarchy or authority. It has
been argued by Marxists to be the end point of human
development
• Socialism is seen to be a middle point between
capitalism and communism, where the state attempts
to re-direct society towards its communist ideal

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Pause: Comparing the three we have looked at so far
View Liberalism Conservatism Socialism
Human nature Inherently good Inherently Inherently good
imperfect and
selfish
Of individual Free to pursue Individual is to Supports the
individual goals obey the power common good
structures
Of society Made up of Hierarchical – Society more
individuals, divisions are important than
working together natural the individual
Private property Used for Necessary for The cause of
personal benefit stability inequality

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Core themes
FASCISM

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Origin
Whilst liberalism, conservatism and socialism are ideas
that have their roots in the 19th Century, fascism was
born in the period between the first world wars, and
emerged most dramatically in Italy and Germany.

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Italian Fascism
Benito Mussolini and his
Fascist Party came to
power in Italy in the
1920s and lasted until the
second World War, upon
which he was executed by
the Italian partisans and
hung by his feet in a
square in Milano

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German Fascism
Adolf Hitler and his Nazi
Party came to power in
the 1930s and lasted until
the Second World
War, until the defeat of
Germany by the Allies.

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Features of fascism
It is a difficult ideology to define, but some of its
common themes include:
• A reaction against rationalism, or the use of
reason to make sense of the world
• A belief that life is struggle, and that the
strongest survive (influenced by Darwin‟s idea of
natural selection)
• Does not believe in equality; instead believes
in elitism, or that some people are born leaders
• An extreme embrace of nationalism;
incorporating a belief that certain nations are
superior to others.

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Core themes
CAPITALISM

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Capitalism
• Is an economic
system that is
focussed on
profit, and the major
part of production is
privately owned
• Goods and services
are created in order
to generate profit

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The ‘Market’
The market is seen to be the defining mechanism in
ordering society. In this sense, „the market‟ refers to
the procedure of selling and buying goods in general
(and anywhere), not necessarily a physical market like
Preston Market! The market procedure is a way where
people bring their goods to sell to consumers, and it is
thought that through trade society‟s order is
maintained.
In economics talk, „supply‟ and „demand‟ are terms
used to describe this process.

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Supply and Demand

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Economic Growth
Belief in the idea of economic growth, so that all people increase their
material wealth (best seen in the pie example below) and become better
off, no matter their position in the economy. If all people are concerned
with increasing their wealth, this will maintain order in society

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Core themes
TOTALITARIANISM

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Totalitarianism
• Is a political system where
the state (in the hands of
perhaps one person or a
small group/party) controls
almost everything in its
territory. All freedom is
removed, and all subjects
are under control of the
authority. It is a ‘total
system’ of control.
• It establishes its rule by
ideological manipulation
(controlling the minds of its
subjects), terror and
brutality.

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Core themes
ANARCHISM

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Anarchism
• The defining feature of anarchism is its opposition to the
state and the institutions of government and law
• Their main argument against authority is that they see
authority as being an offence against the principles of
freedom and equality
• They believe in a natural goodness of humans, and that
without a state governing humans would naturally fall into a
state of cooperation with one another.

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Core themes
RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM

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Religious Fundamentalism
Rejects the distinction between politics and religion;
for fundamentalists, „politics is religion‟ (Khomeini,
leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979)

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Religious Fundamentalism
• Maintains a commitment to ideas and values
that are seen as basic or fundamental
• Most often turns its back on modernity, or
the modern world we live in. Modernity is
seen to be the root of decay in our
world, where values are lacking and moral
social fabric has disintegrated.
• Very often it is a militaristic ideology, and
the use of violence to achieve its aims is
common

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Some funny stereotypes

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Core themes
NATIONALISM

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Nationalism
A firm belief in the idea that the „nation‟ should
be the central principle of political organisation

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ENVIRONMENTALISM

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Environmentalism
A belief that nature is the most important
focus of social organisation

61. FEMINISM
ON TARGET

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Feminism
Important ideology that
changed the focus of ideology
from looking at the public to
the private sphere. That
is, rather than looking at the
politics of the state level, they
started to look at the politics
of the individual. Key to this
was looking at the power
relationship that exists
between men and women.

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Feminism
• Use of the concept of „patriarchy‟ to
describe the power relationship between
men and women
• Made a distinction between the idea of
„sex‟ and „gender‟: sex is a biological term
defined by birth, whereas gender is a
cultural term which incorporates learning
how to be female or male

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GLOBALISATION

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Globalisation
• This term describes the process through which
economies, societies and cultures become further integrated
through a global network of political ideas through
communication, transportation and trade.
• Whether the term is an ideology or not is debatable, but it is an
idea that more and more comes to influence the way we see the
world.

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THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM

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The Political Spectrum
• You may have heard at various times terms used
like „political left‟ and „political right‟
• This is quite a confusing and misleading area in
understanding political science
•The origin of the terms dates back to the French
Revolution and the seating arrangements adopted
by different groups in parliament.

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The Political Spectrum
Traditionally, the political spectrum looked like this:

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Meanings of ‘left’ and ‘right’
LEFT RIGHT
A broad ideological disposition A broad ideological disposition
that is characterised by that is characterised by
sympathy for principles such as sympathy for principles such as
liberty, equality, fraternity and authority, order, hierarchy and
progress. It is also associated duty
with preference for equality
and common ownership.

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Other models of the spectrum
This linear version of left and right, however, is a simplistic division. Over
the years, other models have come to expand the idea of a political
spectrum into a second dimension. The below horseshoe example became
quite popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

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The Political Compass
The below diagram is of a very interesting way to describe the political
spectrum and one which takes into account both economic and social
factors.

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Positioning of contemporary international leaders

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Traditional international leaders

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2010 Australian Election

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Where do you stand on the political
compass? Go to
http://www.politicalcompass.org/index
to take the test and find out if you are a
communist, fascist, budding dictator or
more of a middle man!