Ideology expresses ideas reflecting individual aspirations and social needs of a group, class, or cultural organization. It is thus a set of beliefs that forms the core basis of political, economic, and social systems reflecting the interests and beliefs and characterizes the thinking of a common group of people such as a nation.
The term ideology was originally born of highly controversial philosophical and political debates and fights in the French Revolution resulting to acquisition of several meanings. However, the idea was to portray an aspect of “science of idea that separated ideology as general grammar and logic based on the subject, means and science behind the reasoning”. However, ideology has become a neutral term in the analysis of the diversity in political opinions and views in social and economic groups. In this neutrality, ideology is associated with class struggle and domination believed to be the institutional functioning and social integration of interests. (Louis pg 45)
In conclusion, therefore, ideology incorporates complex set of meaning and the processes involved in producing it. It plays a key role socio-political and economic life orienting the semantics in this life. Ideology can be distinguished from other strategies, other single issues that party, groups or belief may built around, and as Philosopher Michael Oakeshott defines it, ideology is “the formalized abridgement of the supposed sub-stratum of the national truth contained in the tradition”. (Willard pg 195)
References
Louis, Althusser. 'Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses' Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays Monthly Review Press, 1971
Willard, A. Mullins. "On the Concept of Ideology in Political Science." The American Political Science Review. American Political Science Association, 1972
