POL113H5 Midterm: Ideas and Ideologies (2)
22 Feb 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Ideas and Ideologies
Midterm
1. Freedens Definition of Political Ideologies
a. Ideology
i. System of ideas, ideals and beliefs characteristic of a group/individual
ii. Political Ideology: set of ideas, beliefs and values that exhibit a recurring pattern
and are held by significant groups
1. Compete to provide/control plans for public policy to justify or change
social and political arrangements and processes of political community
iii. Pejorative Ideologies
1. The ruling class dictates the ideologies of society
a. This would end when particular interests aren’t ruled as general
ones
2. Ideology is associated to not consider other opinions or evidence
iv. Ideology – Morphology
1. Connect political ideas in certain way
a. Some dependent, some at core, some farther away
i. Concepts gain meanings through proximity to other
concepts (concepts as furniture and ideologies is
furnished room)
b. Share resemblance to other ideologies in same tradition
c. Pattern decontests (make obvious) meanings of contestable
(test and arguable) concepts
d. Decontestation is not random, subject to logical and cultural
constraints
e. Decontestation is vague as a concept cannot be too specific or
narrow
2. Ideology VS Political Theory
a. Political theory -> more technical, less accessible
i. More reflexive and self-critical
ii. Concern for moral rightness of rule of law
iii. Logical validity and internal coherence
3. Ideology and Political Theory
a. Both…
i. Modes of political thought
ii. Contain political concepts as basic units
iii. Political theory constrains ideological dimension
b. Ideology and democracy
i. Provide societies with choice and options
ii. More communicable than some forms of political thought
