At its base, ideologies are a collection of ideals and beliefs, and are generally applied to political theory. Ideologies are not just a result of theoretical politics, they also impact politics in practice, through an intricate relationship. There are many different ideologies, the most common being conservatism, liberalism and socialism, but also other groups such as feminism, environmentalism, neo-liberalism and capitalism. All of the ideologies affect politics in different ways and some only affect politics in response to each other but all are important in understanding the workings of politics.
Conservatism, liberalism and socialism, are also the three broad traditions that influence British politics as well as other ideologies such as feminism, along with coalitions and hybrids of these three main traditions, such as neo-liberalism which have all influenced the political sphere in major ways (Andrews, 2013a). Ideology as a term was coined by Antoine Destutt de Tracy in 1817 who gave it four meanings suggesting it could influence societies development, was secular, and could either be an expression of ‘dangerous radicalism’ or as another term for ‘political doctrine’ (de Tracy, 1817, as cited in Andrews, 2013a). But it has now become significant to the making sense of the political world as they provide reference frames to understand politics (Smith, 2013). Ideologies hold patterns of beliefs that help identify parties and their aims and explain the conditions of society, with solutions, in the context of their beliefs [1]. They are consistent and coherent with their beliefs, held by like-minded groups of people who could be politicians or civilians (Andrews, 2013a). Michael Freeden believed ideologies could “map the political and social world for us” and they are compulsory for us to understand the world and therefore have the ability to act in it, but he also viewed them as “vehicles for dissent” as they offer “new perspectives … offer new solutions” and “ask new questions” which allow for “changing political realities”(Freeden, 2003 and 2001). Ideologies are not the same as political theories, which focus on political ideas through a non-partisan agent, whereas ideologies are tethered to specific parties and their interpretations. Political theories and ideologies are intimately influenced by one another but they are not simple applications of one to another; conservatism isn’t completely personified in the conservative party and nor is liberalism in the liberal democratic party. Ideologies also have other distinctions, for each ideology has key organising concepts and are easier to understand, attached to real-world examples and notions of common sense to be accessed by all citizens.
The success of ideologies is often due to how they can be applied to relatable circumstances of individuals, how they tie into common-sense ideas. Policies are much more in favour if they affect individuals in personal ways and ways that are already linked to their ideals and beliefs. As such, common sense is also changed by the policies in place and how they have affected society, for example, feminists aimed to change personal beliefs in order to gain support of their policies, whilst also hoping that changing things politically would help change things personally. Ideologies help politicians and leaders of these movements, connect to voters as it distinguishes their ideas, and items like manifestos help voters understand their beliefs and the policies they are interested in. However, these distinctions also allow for ideologies to be contested features of politics and ideologies have been linked to wars and authoritarian regimes such as Nazism in Germany and fascism in Italy for the way they used propaganda and rhetoric and therefore employed ideological control (Andrews, 2013a). Ideologies massively changed the political landscapes of these countries, but they also helped to maintain them in opposing countries who defended ‘western liberal values’ (ibid). Ideologies can be used for “dangerous radicalism” by powerful leaders, but as Freeden said they can also be “vehicles for dissent” for the public and intellectuals who disseminate ideological beliefs and use them to overthrow these regimes (Freeden, 2001 and 2003, as cited in Andrews, 2013a).
Ideologies are all about controlling the beliefs and norms held in societies, by the ones creating policies and the ones voting for them and therefore it is important to change and manage attitudes in order to change and manage politics. Many ideological parties use rhetoric and political dog whistles to sway voters from other parties and capture their interests (Thatcher, 1978 as cited in Smith, 2013). They often invoke fear or implant bias views of certain parts of society to gain votes as well as blaming other parties for their shortcomings. Parties and their ideologies often influence politics in their responses to the actions and beliefs of other parties. Their ideological beliefs also affect how they want to influence politics and in turn have politics influence society. Part of liberal theory is the restricted power of the government to do anything other than enforce the freedom and rights of individuals and therefore the policy decisions of the Labour party will try to limit government control and retract policies already in place that hinder individual freedom. Socialists believe in either radical revolutions, like Marx, or gradualism like Fabians to slowly change society through small reforms and this influences the policies they advocate. Conservatives, however, want to conserve society and old, established traditions that have shown success. Therefore, the way they influence politics is by countering new reforms and trying to conserve and consolidate old policies and ideals. Feminists, on the other hand, believe society needs a large re-model, if not an entirely new model in order to function, arguing this requires the dismantling of key institutions and norms of society (Andrews, 2013b).
Conservatism as an ideology was introduced by Edmund Burke in 1790 as he tried to maintain the status quo in the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the French Revolution, hoping to dissuade similar actions and movements (Andrews, 2013b). Conservatism is based around pragmatism and the application of tried and tested schemes and this prioritisation of pragmatism above abstract theory has led to some to argue it is not an ideology but conservatism and its coherent ideals still impact the political sphere and therefore is an ideology (ibid). Their ideological beliefs include individual responsibility which has influenced the policies they advocate. In regards to welfare, conservatist view issues such as poverty as due to personal choices and therefore their welfare policies have forced individuals to change their actions, such as Job Seeker’s Allowance which requires individuals to be looking for work in order to obtain the benefits. Conservatives like Thatcher used rhetoric to turn the country against those claiming benefits in order to gather support in restricting those benefits (Smith, 2013). Furthermore, when the conservative-liberal democrat coalition limited public spending after the 2007 financial crisis, they blamed ‘scroungers’ and a ‘dependency culture’ to gain political support (ibid). They succeeded in changing views of the ‘deserving poor’ (National Centre for Research, 2011, as cited in Smith, 2013) and resultantly changed political views to align with their ideological beliefs.
Feminists also aim to change beliefs about society to achieve their political objectives as they believe issues such as patriarchy and capitalism cause their oppression. Feminism started as a movement in the late 19th and early 20th century, growing on other ideologies to change public views but it was not until the 1970s that it became an ideology (Blakely, 2013). Kate Millet’s ‘Sexual Politics’ identified and analysed the patriarchy which became an organising concept for feminism and helped it transform into an ideology that had political reach (ibid). First wave feminism was based on liberal and social feminists who wanted equality and freedom, or to overcome capitalism, respectively (ibid). Throughout each wave though, feminists aimed to enlighten women to the oppression they faced at the hands of men in order to change societal norms and values, hoping that changing common-sense would change politics and influence it in the way of equality. Although some feminists believe society requires a recreation, others understand gradual reforms will help change politics long-term and so for feminists, changing perceptions and common sense has always been the best way for their ideological beliefs to influence politics (ibid). The formation of feminism as an ideology has helped it gain political stance.
Ideologies can be seen as freeing as they can be performed and executed formally through political parties and intellectuals and less formally through social media such as during the Arab Spring where it was used to disseminate beliefs rapidly and without censorship, which influenced politics in ways politicians couldn’t (Andrews, 2013a). They have also aided the extremism in these cases where social media was needed though. Ideologies have also been viewed as dead in certain circumstances where parties displayed political consensus but others argue that they are still significant in modern day politics, influencing its agendas and beliefs of citizens (Andrews, 2013a). Ideologies influence politics subtly and explicitly, in so many ways, helping to explain political theory as well as revising it. Many global political systems would not be as efficient without ideologies, especially democratic societies which require the acknowledgement and views of citizens. Ideologies do not just influence politics, but they lay at the foundations of it.
