Political Thinking
POL 161
Erik Rankin
Introduction & What is an
Ideology?
D&B 1-9
Introduction
•
•
•
•
Who am I?
Well, who the hell are you?
Distribution of syllabus
Discussion of syllabus as a social
contract
• Immanent Critique v. Transcendental
Critique
Lesson Objectives
1. Describe what the term ideology originally
meant
2. Define the term ideology as it will be used
in this course
3. Identify 4 functions of a political ideology
4. Specify the connection between ideology
and human nature
5. Discern the link between different
ideologies and their understanding of
freedom
6. Understand the connection between
ideology and revolutionary political
change
Historical Ideology
• Originally, was a systematic study of
the origins or source of our ideas
(DeTracy 1734-1836)
• 18th century version is quite different
from our conception if it today
• Ideology came to mean a set of ideas
that was somehow suspect, and
probably false
• This still retains significance today
• For this class an ideology has no
unfavorable connotations
Introduction
• What is an ideology?
– Dagger and Ball describe an ideology
as what “people need to help
comprehend and cope with turbulent
times and confusing circumstances.”
– Does this sound like religion?
– Ball and Dagger describe 4 important
functions for those who adhere to a
specific ideology
Explanatory Function
• An ideology explains political phenomena
that would otherwise remain mysterious or
puzzling
• Depending on how you answer specific
questions regarding your political feelings,
determines to some extent, your ideology
• A Marxist answers one way, while a
deconstructionalist or a socialist will
answer another
• Questions like “Why are there conflicts
between nations, races, and social
classes?”
Evaluative Function
• An ideology provides a criteria and a
standard of evaluation for deciding right
and wrong, good and bad.
• Should we have censorship?
• Can different races get along, is this
desirable?
• Is there a right to life, who should decide?
The government? The individual?
• It is here one sees that your answer will
show a tendency towards a specific
ideology
Orientative Function
• An ideology orients, allowing one to have
a sense of who they are and where they
belong.
• The idea that there is a social or cultural
compass to define and affirm their
individual and collective identity
• A structuralist sees themselves as existing
in a world where social structures dominate
• Fascists see themselves as members of a
superior nation or race
• A liberalist will see the power in human
reason and put it above all else
• Communists, deconstructionalists, Animal
liberationalists, etc………
Programmatic Function
• An ideology supplies a political
program
• This program provides and answer
to the question posed by Lenin,
among others: What is to be done?
• Who is to do it?
• With what means?
• Different answers for liberals,
conservatives, fascists, MarxistLeninist, greens, and many others
Introduction
• Summary
– A political ideology is a more or less
systematic set of ideas that perform
four functions for those who hold it:
the explanatory, the evaluative, the
orientative, and the programmatic
functions.
– An ideology in short serves as a guide
through the thicket of political life
– Is democracy an ideology?
Introduction
• NOPE!
• Democracy is an ideal that is interpreted
by different ideologies
• Marxists feel democracy means rule by,
and in the interest of common people
• For liberals, democracy means majority
rule, with protection of minority rights
• Well all know conservatives and liberals
differ on their view of democracy
• For greens, it means participatory or
grass roots democracy
Introduction
• Dagger and Ball also
discuss freedom and
its various
interpretations
• Freedom means
different things to
various ideologies
i.e. fascists v. liberals
• Triadic Model of
Freedom
• Each ideology
identifies the triad in
their own way
Introduction
• EX: Liberals
– Agent: Individuals
– Goal: Satisfactions of one’s desires
– Obstacle: Any unreasonable restraint or
restriction on satisfaction
• EX: Marxist
– Agent: Class- Bourgeoisie or Proletariat
– Goal: Classless society
– Obstacle: capitalist exploitation
Introduction
• EX: Fascists
– Agent: Whole nation or race
– Obstacle: Inferior nations or races
– Goal: Racial and national purity and
supremacy
• EX: Animal Liberationalists
– Agent: Animals
– Obstacle: Corporate and individual
abuse of animals for capital or personal
gain
– Goal: liberate animals from current
enslaved and mistreated conditions
Journal Entry #1
• React briefly to the readings in the
D&B text pgs. 1-9
• Which ideology do you see yourself
to have the most in common with?
• Why?