RULING IDEAS
The power of ideology
Ideological Brands
Why ideology?
We are considering how society remains (reasonably) ordered and able to function despite its divisions
Moreover, society is reproduced without the direct need for violence or direct coercion and without overt conflict
Ideology, the ‘common sense’ through which we understand the world, is the means through which consent to this order is manufactured and maintained
Today 1.
The importance of ideological understandings
2.
Ideology as an illusionary bias
3.
Ideology and cynical enjoyment
4.
Ideology as an imaginary comfort
Our question
Using examples from contemporary Britain, critically discuss the role of ideology in maintaining elite privilege
What is ideology?
Ideology is a system of ideas, or a way of thinking, that relies on supporting assumptions about how is the world and how it should be
In the most basic sense ideology is a set of beliefs: our understanding of the cultural, economic, political and social ‘common sense’
But does ideology function to manipulate the truth or organise our thoughts?
Ideological fairness
Both leaders use the term ‘fairness’ What do they mean by ‘fairness’? Are they ideologically biased or do they just view the world in a different way?
Structures come to life
We experience ideology as the internal lens through which we view the world (an attitude towards the world), but ideology is created socially through social institutions and structures
We have our own ideological positions but these are taken within a pre-existing environment into which we are inducted
Whilst we are born as individuals, we become ‘subjects’ on the basis of our ideological influences and the way we imagine and represent our world, as well as how we think it should be
Most of this process is unconscious – we don’t reflect on ideology, we just do because it feels ‘natural’ or common sense to us
What are assuming?
While many ideologies can be given a political or cultural name e.g. liberal or conservative, we can simply think of them as ‘common sense’ attitudes about the world about which we have some attachment
In regards to universities, do you (strongly) agree/disagree that… 1. 2. 3.
Universities should focus on teaching the skills needed by employers The point of university is to be critical of society Because university graduates have higher salaries, they should be prepared to pay the full cost of their education
Can you identify an ideological position that represents your ‘natural’ thoughts about the role of universities
Why do you have this attitude?
Choosing ideology
Our ideas, beliefs and attitudes do not ‘fall out of the sky’ upon us, nor do we often actively choose them
Instead we are socialised into certain ways of thinking at both a primary level and through ideological practices
We cannot instantly change our ideologies because we have some attachment to them
The question is whether ideology just happens, or is it manipulated by ruling interests
Ideological bias
The predominate view of ideology is as a (subjective) bias that prevents us seeing the (objective) truth
We think of ideologies as biased or unbalanced as opposed to rationally constructed perspectives
It is a legitimate and powerful political strategy to call someone or something ‘ideological’
Therefore to critique an ideology is to show how it has manipulated a situation to give a false representation, often in an indirect way
Ideological super-structures
For Karl Marx ideological illusions were biased towards those in power, specifically the economic interests of the bourgeoisie
He argued that ideology was the super-structure that reflected the economic base: the ideas that legitimised economic exploitation
Ideological structures are able to maintain the system of production by providing explanations for its existence
Therefore ideology is not only biased, but deliberately manipulated for the benefit of powerful (economic) interests
False consciousness
Marx suggested that the elementary function of ideology is when ‘they don’t know that they are doing it, but they are doing it’
Workers do not reject capitalism because they are not aware of their exploitation (a ‘false consciousness’) as a result of the ideological frameworks that dominate our thinking
Moreover, we are not aware of our biases because we think and feel in the way those in power want us to think: we might feel exploited by the economic system, but happily go shopping
Politicians act to create this ‘false’ consciousness, appealing to people in ways that support certain ways of thinking
Ruling ideas
Beyond Marx’s economic analysis, the dominant ideology thesis suggests that one form of ideological common sense dominates a functioning society
We know this because certain ideas don’t make ‘sense’ within this functioning of ideology
This ideology is the ideology of the ruling elite, whether economic, political or otherwise – if the dominant ideology didn’t support the existing social organisation, there would be mass dissent (or mass repression)
As a consequence, if the common sense of society is that of the ruling class, then individuals will see the world through the eyes of the ruling classes
Ideological riots
As we have seen, many politicians argued that the 2011 riots were an example of ‘criminality’ or ‘greed’
Others have argued that the riots were caused by systematic injustices
One position is arguing that if social exclusion was a factor in the riots it is the fault of the excluded
The other position suggests that exclusion is caused by structural influences outside of their control
Both arguments have assumptions about how the world is and how it should be and both arguments present their analysis as neutral and objective
These ideological positions have been externalised in practices of communities and institutions, such as in the police and courts
Are either of these positions ideologically biased?
Hegemonic battles
Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci argued that society is not dominated by a single ideology but, instead, multiple ideologies battle for the place of ‘hegemony’
We might have the ideology of the elite battling with the ideology of the working class
Elections are fought through the battle for hegemony and the way we understand the world
The ruling class have an advantage in controlling the means through which these ideas are propagated via the corporate ownership of the media and the consequent profit motive
Understanding immigration
As we discussed last week, immigration has become a significant political issue in Britain
Common sense public opinion has shifted and the presence of UKIP has forced the Conservative Party and the Labour Party to change their positions on immigration
Hegemonic battles are often fought over the language used
Thinking about an organisation you have been involved with, was the ‘common sense’ controlled by the most influential?
Ideological state apparatuses
Althusser argued that ideology is not just in our heads, but in our material practices – ideology is what we do
Ideology is embedded in state and social institutions, the ‘Ideological State Apparatuses’ (ISA’s), in what they do, rather than what they say e.g. Not ‘We are the police, we stop and search Black people’
Althusser argued that in order for society to be reproduced it is vital that we are able to perform our ‘duties’ independently, rather than being coerced
ISA’s ‘interpellate’ individuals as subjects of the ideological order, giving them an identity within the order
The University apparatus
According to Althusser’s definition, universities are an ideological state institution
Universities are a material institution that reproduces ideology to which students are subjects
The university acts to reproduces ideology through its practices
The ‘employability agenda’ is an example of this process, whereby the role of education is make you more employable
How does Brunel influence your identity?
Cynical Reason
Slavoj Žižek argues that Marx’s ideological maxim of ‘they don’t know what they are doing, but they are doing it’, should be reversed
‘They know what they are doing, but they are doing it anyway’
It is not that we don’t know that we are being exploited, or living an illusion, but we are cynical about it
We see ideological ‘distortion’ and believe that we are above it, but our actions don’t change
Ideological elitism 
In the lecture on elitism I presented a range of statistics that revealed that women, ethnic minorities and the working classes were vastly under-represented in high-status social institutions

This conclusion appeared to be accepted by the majority of the class: you know it

But no one seemed particularly bothered: you carry on regardless
Do you feel cynical, and why might that be?
A necessary illusion?
If ideology is how we relate to the world, cynicism is one way of reacting to contradictory information without having to change the way we act and, most importantly, feel
Ideology may express normative ideas about how the world should be, but it is also necessary to maintain our sanity
We resist when our ideologies are threatened and are shocked when something forces a change in our ideological subjectivity
Existential security
In the absence of a determining reference point, ideology makes the world meaningful and comprehensible for us
Everyone sees the world through an ideological viewpoint: there is no escape from ideology
Because we can only see ideology through an ideological viewpoint, it is impossible to be biased: there are ideological positions, but no objective ideologies
Ideology functions by reduces a complex world into an understandable framework
Exclusive ideologies
In order to perform this reduction, ideological perceptions exclude elements that threaten our understanding (the bits that don’t fit our common sense)
This social exclusion is the elementary operation of ideology: in order to secure ideological attachments we find someone to blame it on
In pre-Nazi Germany, Hitler presented the ‘Jew’ as the cause of all of Germany’s problems, thus reducing a complex crisis to an understandable situation
Likewise, immigrants and outsiders are often presented as the embodiment of our struggles to maintain our ideological identities
These fears are embodied in horror or action movies by a monster or villain
Have you been part of an organisation or in a situation that excluded people who didn’t fit into with the common sense attitudes?
Enjoy!
Žižek also argues that ideology is not something we just believe in, but have some emotional attachment to
Ideology not only allows us to have symbolic and imaginary attachments that secure our identities, but is often expressed in enjoyable ways
The ‘cultural industry’ both ‘seduces’ us into consent and portrays ideological messages about who we are and how we should act
What are the ideological themes in The Dark Knight Rises?
Ideological critique
If ideologies cannot be accused of bias, we are critiquing what they do, rather than whether they are true
In a cynical world, presenting people with evidence that contradicts their ideology is often ineffective
Moreover, people have a strong emotional attachment to their ideological commitments – we enjoy ideology
As a consequence, politics itself is quite cynical: how do you resist in the 21st century?
Ideological summation
Ideologies are the views, beliefs and attitudes we take towards the world
Ideologies are also externalised in material or institutional processes to which we are ‘subjected’
Ideology functions through social exclusion of those who do not fit
We cannot ever escape ideology and thus the language of ‘bias’ becomes unproductive
Our age is marked by the cynicism of ideology
Next Week GOD SAVE THE QUEEN: RELIGION, COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY READINGS Aldridge, A. (2006) Religion. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (second edition), Basingstoke: Macmillan. Crow, G and Maclean, C. (2006) Community. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (second edition), Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Review assessment feedback
In general I was very pleased – the average grade was 63%/B
Almost all students were able to select an appropriate issue and demonstrate how academic ideas allowed different ways of understanding
The biggest errors were in the depth of reasoning and in the use of evidence
Please read through your feedback and address the issues I have identified