Ideology is a word that has been subject to many definitions. According to the Macmillan Dictionary, ideology is a system of ideas and principles on which a political or economic theory is based or a set of ideas with a strong social influence. Ideology is therefore a very wide topic given that it covers all ideas that may have had a considerable impact in making the country what it is today. Having this in mind, ideology is most often associated with the political aspirations of both the citizens and the leaders. For instance, according to Mark L. Hass, ideology is leader’s preferences for ordering the political worlds, both domestically and internationally. Ideologies are political principles and goals that leaders value most and use to legitimate their right to rule. Different ideological beliefs have major differences and they are the main differences from one political party to the next.
There are however an argument or perception that ideology is not necessarily a political thing. It could also involve ideas and principles that can be applied in other sectors of society. For instance, the different basis of religion can be perceived to some as ideologies. This being because they consist of a set of rules and principles to be followed and supported by a group of people who believe in them. Ideologies therefore are observed to command a great amount of loyalty. In most cases people believe in the principles so much that they control their lives. They only go back on what they considered fact if they are proved wrong with moving amounts of evidence if any.
Where the Ideologies are political, for one to clearly look at the major ideologies that have shaped America into the country it is today, one has to consider the ideologies that were used to create the American Revolution. These ideologies helped create the foundation of both the political and economical standing of the country that is manifested in the success we see today. Though ideologies may have started as a fight for a right or a statement of a value, these have grown to be a major platform on which the political aspirations of many people were formed.
The big picture of American politics is a struggle between the liberal and conservative sentiments over symbols, policies and even culture. American liberalism refers to the argument that success should rely on personal effort and discipline and not on the circumstances under which one was born. This is however not always the case as it is evident that the circumstances of where and how one is brought up are of great influence on the outcome of a person’s life. Circumstances have never been equal for every citizen in America it is therefore a result of this circumstances that the welfare of the citizens is never at the same level.
In Liberalism, it is argued that these unequal circumstances should be leveled at some point. It is the view of liberals that the government should take up the role of at least trying to make the unequal conditions less extreme. Liberalists therefore support the use of political powers by the government to make sure that there is promotion of equality. One of the ways in which the government does that is through the specification of a minimum wage under which no one should be paid. The government should also redistribute income to the poor and formulate policies like construction of public schools which may provide tools that will lead to higher chances of equality. Liberals also consider the economy to need government control to ensure that it runs smoothly and fairly. They think that the government should ensure that those who have acquired monopoly in different industries should be prevented from enriching themselves and exploiting others. According to liberals, the government has the responsibility of establishing standards. This also includes issues that are not profitable to anyone. For instance the law should stipulate clear traffic rules to be followed. This is to ensure that there is a legal provision for almost all situations and a penalty for not following them. By doing this they believe everything will run smoothly and it will promote equality.
Though the liberals have a high expectation of the roles the government should play in their lives, they have one social aspect that in a way contradicts their other sentiments. The liberals have a strong support for privacy. It is their argument that the government should not interfere in the private issues of the people. It should not use its powers to harass the public and demean their rights. This is why liberals are the most concerned with the rights of the minority group such as the African American, women and the homosexuals. This is one of the main things that formed the campaign slogans when political parties were first formed in the United States of America.
Conservatism on the other hand has a different approach. Conservatives believe that rather than the federal government, citizens, families and communities are the driving force of successful societies. They are not very much concerned with the equality factor in the society but are rather zealous about long term effects of economic growth on the standards of living of the people. Conservatives are very much against policies that seek the redistribution of income. They consider the plight of the disadvantaged groups is best catered for by charity work and support groups that are started up with the purpose of looking into their problems. Conservatives insist on the freedom of business. This is the reason they are not supportive of government involvement in business matters. However, they consider the government to have a responsibility towards creating a safe environment for business transactions between participants in the market place and also to expand market freedoms. This includes the provision of incentives and the creation of rules and regulations that will prevent exploitation of others in the business field.
When it comes to cultural matters, there is a difference in the opinion of the conservatives. In the past years, the conservatives believed that the cultural matters should be treated like the market matters. This implies that they considered that the government had no authority over the cultural decisions that citizens make. As far as adults are concerned, whatever they decide to indulge in is not a government matter unless it is against the law of the land. If the citizen involved is a minor then the parents or guardians are best suited to deal with the case. However, in the modern conservatism this opinion has changed. These set of conservatives believe that the social, religious and cultural institutions have become what they are today because the citizens have decided to mould them to what they are today. These therefore represent the culture that has been formed from the initial core values that have built this country to its present state. The importance of this values and roots of the American culture has forced the conservatives to call upon the government to preserve the traditions of the nations. This is to facilitate the passage of the history of the nation from one generation to the next. It is also a way to help the citizens look back and realize how far the nation has come.
These ideologies have greatly influenced the progress of the political field of America. Many of the values referred to by the different groups have manifested themselves in the political arguments and the foundations of the formation of different political parties over the years. The two main political parties in the United States of America are a good example to illustrate how the different ideologies have been used on the political field since the formation of the two.
In the formation of the Republican Party, it is one of their main known activities that they fought for the abolition of the slave trade. This party was actively involved in the struggle for the rights of the black people. According to the book The Republican Party: A Father-And-Son Review of RNC History by Ronald Laone and Jay Laone, the Republican Party was mainly in support of Laissez Faire. The party advocates that less government involvement is good governance and that the state should only interfere if one is not able to assist him or herself. One of the factors that led to the success of this party was that they also insisted that the government provide a good environment for business transactions. They proposed that the government create appropriate tariffs that would support especially the upcoming businesses. They also advocated that the government provide a bank that would provide even currency with banknotes.
The fact that the party upheld these principles among others ensured high popularity with the low income citizens. This is because these things mostly affected the poor whose rights they were fighting for. For instance the slaves whose freedom they were fighting for. This is also evident in today’s political arena. The Republican Party is popular with the low income earners in the business sector since they fight for good working conditions and fair business opportunities. The party is also favored by the disadvantaged minority since they try to provide for their rights.
The Democratic Party is often referred to as the party of the people. It inspires a sense of free will. This party fights for the freedom of the people to choose. The party however has placed great value in the family values. This is however to some extent ironic since the party mainly advocates for good family standing whether they be single parented or same sex families. This does not always work out for the best of the party since the sensitive social matters always attract different opinions from the audience. Such matters include abortion and same sex marriage. They provide a tough fact to deal with since to some religions same sex marriage and abortion is in no way in line with good family values.
The American ideology has had a major impact in the political arena. There is a significant recurrence of the issues in mentioned in the ideology analysis above. These issues have shaped the form of political parties over the years since their formation. These issues have also been the main points that have been used by these parties to argue out their rights to rule. They have been the major concept of elections and debates. There is little chance that this will ever change. The republicans who fight for rights of the people and better working and living conditions have always benefited from arguments of how they may provide the said amenities. They however have a lot of problems in explaining how they will provide these things if they have not already done so. For instance given the economic crisis that has hit the country, it would be very hard to convince the public that things will get better.
The Democratic Party also has a hard time in dealing with the social issues that they claim to value. They also fight for the government support in business and freedom of people from government intervention. They mainly focus on the long term outcome but it is hard to make people focus on the long term effects when their present is not very promising. This American ideology displays how different political opinions create a well functioning political sequence that recurs in every election.
The American Ideology has also had positive effects on other sectors of the country. The social sector for instance has had improvements based on both sides of the ideology. For example the rights of the disadvantaged and the minority have been taken into consideration in light of the opinions of both the republicans and the democrats. This is can be illustrated using the rights of the disabled population. According to the beliefs of one side, the government has provided for the treatment and provision of the disabled. On the other hand, according to the perception of the other side there are different support organizations that deal with the issues that these people face and how to help them.
The American ideology also has helped in the social world. This is because it has created a forum for the preservation of the American culture and values. This has given the citizens a new value for their roots and has given the older generation basis for them to teach the younger generation their history. The ideology has helped bring to light the importance of family structures and how they contribute to the unity of the country. These values are what create the cornerstone of the nation and also keeps the different religions at peaceful position. However skeptical it seems the perception of letting people do what they think is right has led to the harmony that now exists between the different religions. As much as it has created conflict, the act of one part of the government supporting at least one of the religion’s values and beliefs has led to an acceptance of the different values.
There has also been a great impact of this ideology on the economic factors of the country. The government through the sentiments of the different perceptions has created good working conditions for workers and a good environment for trade by providing rules to prevent monopoly. The government has also provided incentives that have attracted investors from both within and out of the country. This has greatly helped improve the chances of an increase in the country’s productivity levels. There has also been an improvement in economical processes with strict regulations on the standards of trade and also the products and services.
It is safe to say that not all people share the same ideologies. It is therefore a lost cause to expect that all will view the ideology and its impacts in the same way. The American Ideology does not appeal to all citizens. Some of the affected view the system driven by the ideology as a malfunction that never solves the issues at hand. Some of the issues that have created impatience among the citizens with every government are the rate of unemployment and the recent depression in America’s economy. These factors have led people to lose confidence in the performance of the government towards the goals set and the commitments made at the time of the elections.
There are citizens who feel that the issues that are considered ideologies in this day and age are petty and have replaced the more important issues that would have been dealt with in the past. They feel that the issues have portrayed the government and the country’s politicians as not serious in handling the issues that most affect the citizens now. According to the Corporate Welfare Organization, there is little to be desired of what has become the political ideology of America in the present day. They state that the Republicans and Democrats have shifted further towards the right wing than the American founding fathers. For instance, Democrats are no longer able to identify with the liberals they once were. Similarly, Republicans are now concerned with the concepts known as “New Deal” issues. These are the same issues the Republicans built their party on opposing. Reducing the size of government is also supposed to be a major issue of the Republican Party, yet they have been out-spending the Democrats on virtually all budget bills throughout the 1990s. Neither of these major parties now acts with stability or focus, other than their preservation, and the preservation of the money powers. Unfortunately this presents the sentiments of many citizens in America.
Andrew Levine in his book American Ideology: The Critic discusses the initial ideologies of Darwin and Weber. He discusses the rise of the idea of natural selection, the spirit of capitalism and the protestant ethic. Having looked at all the philosophical studies of these men he concludes that the American ideology promotes acquiescence to the status quo. By this he meant that the American ideology is encouraged by minimally democratic institutions not to try to change the world for the better. It starts by laying out the limits of the possible therefore concluding that there is no feasible democratic alternative that is more rational and more desirable than what they already have.
In conclusion, there are very many factors that led to the American Ideology. The ideology also has led to many different reactions from the public. Whether negative or positive, the America Ideology has led to the growth of a mighty nation that will continue to grow despite the few changes that may affect the nature of the ideology.
Works Cited
American Family Traditions. American Culture Page. 2009. Web. 9 November 2012.
Burnham, James. Congress & American Tradition (Ppr). New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1959. Print
Christopher Ellis, James A. Stimson. Ideology in America. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print.
CorporateWelfare. What happened to political ideology in America? Web. 8 November 2012.
Cullen, Jim. The American Dream:A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.
Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men:The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Print.
Gienapp, William E. The Origins of the Republican Party: 1852-1856. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. Print.
Haas, Mark L. The Clash of Ideologies: Middle Eastern Politics and American Security. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
Independent living Institute. Organizations both of and for persons with disabilities. 2012. Web. 9 November 2012
Jacobs, Tom. Is Conservatism Our Default Ideology? 25 March 2012. Web. 9 November 2012
Levine, Andrew. The American Ideology: A Critique. London: Routledge, 2004. Print.
macmillandictionary. ideology. 2012. Web. 8 November 2012
McKay, David. American Politics and Society. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print.
Ronald Laone, Jay Laone. The Republican Party: A Father-And-Son Review of RNC History. Bloomington: iUniverse, 2012. Web. 9 November 2012.
Ryn, Claes G. The Ideology of American Empire. Dissertation. Philadelphia: Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2003. Print.
Segal, Elizabeth A. Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective. Connecticut: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Selfa, Lance. The Democrats: A Critical History. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2008.
Sinas, Sinas Dan. Job Killers. Bloomington: iUniverse, 2010. Web. 9 November 2012.
