But are ideologies, for want of a better word, good? Or are ideologies inflexible, dogmatic and generally to the detriment of society? I am mainly thinking about ideologues who in pursuing their vision of an ideal society, leave absolute disaster in their wake.
Can the War On Terror (or whatever it is called now) be considered a battle of ideologies?
Thinking about dictatorships, can ideology be used to brainwash the masses, to indoctrinate them to authoritarian rule under the guise that such rule will eventually lead to the ideal society?
Interesting point Amir! Ideologies are just as effective as religion for Brainwashing the masses. If I were to take liberty with Karl Marx I would say that Ideology is the Opiate of the masses. In Latin America we can increasingly see Ideology being a driving force behind regimes and political parties alike. Having similar effects in both Authoritarian and Democratically governed countries.
ReplyDeleteIn the of religious fundamentalism, is it a case of a blurring of the line between religion and ideology?
ReplyDeleteIs there a line between Religion and Ideology? They both tend to serve the same purpose have similar backgrounds and can raise the population to similar levels of furore. Thus are religious leaders elected or "placed" in charge of a religious group for life Dictators?
ReplyDeleteThe War on Terror is most certainly a war of ideologies. Now that the Cold War is over it is THE ideological war. As usual people are trying their best to ignore what is right in front of them and sweep it under the rug, but it will not be so easy this time.
ReplyDeleteIdeologies are a key function of propaganda and indoctrination. Across many authoritarian states, and some democratic ones too, ideologies form the basis of national unity. Without the use ideology to unite the people as one, and to create ideological enemies (scapegoats), it would be far more difficult for dictators to maintain power.
I don't like to say this, but I think that Ben is probably right, and there seems to me to be very little difference between religion and ideology. If one looked at each independently and then compared them, one would certainly find they have more in common than do not. Similarly, religious heads of state have a great deal in common with other authoritarian leaders. They got where they are the same way. Perhaps the only difference is that they view themselves as having a more legitimate reason to rule, because they rule on behalf of God. You can think of that what you want...