Are we Living in a 'Post - Ideological Society'?

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Are We Living in a Post – Ideological Society?

Jessica Cohen

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Are we Living in a ‘Post – Ideological Society’?

Ideology sprang out of the upheavals – economic, social and political – through which the modern world took shape, and has been intimately involved in the continuing process of social transformation and political development. In general, they aim to provide and defend a particular social order. Traditionally ideologies have been categorised in terms of a ‘political spectrum’. Ideologies range from left wing to right wing – an idea that hails from seating arrangements in parliament during the French revolution. They range from communism on the extreme left, to liberalism in the centre and fascism at the far right. However, this linear spectrum has come under attack from those who say it portrays politics as one-dimensional and oversimplifies the complexity and fluidity of ideologies. Many other representations have been attempted, for example the horseshoe or two-dimensional ideas; nevertheless the traditional linear spectrum remains the most widely used model.

The idea of the ‘end of ideology’ first appeared in the late 1950’s, during what is now known as the post war consensus. Daniel Bell said in 1960 ‘Few serious minds believe any longer that one can set down ‘blueprints’ and through ‘social engineering’ bring about a new utopia of social harmony. At the same time, the older ‘counter beliefs’ have lost their intellectual force as well… In the western world, therefore, there is today a rough consensus among intellectuals on political issues…. in that sense the ideological age has ended’. However, this ‘consensus’ either never existed or was very quickly destroyed with the beginning of the 1960’s, a decade which acted as the platform for a variety of social and political changes. Obviously it is possible that this earlier prediction was just premature and we have now actually reached the end of ideology, but the fact that the ‘end of ideology’ argument has tried and failed before immediately brings doubt to its credibility now that the idea has re-emerged.

It is also possible to see this so called consensus as not the ‘end of the ideology’ but simply the triumph of one major ideology, as Francis Fukuyama explores in his book ‘the end of history and the last man’. He explains that liberalism has managed to overcome its main ideological rivals and become the dominant ideology in the modern world, due to the collapse of communism in the 1980’s and the general failure of any other system of governance. There may be some remaining disputes, however in general the ideas of individual liberty, private property, equality of opportunity and tolerance have now become accepted worldwide.

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According to Fukuyama this marks the ‘end of history’ in that ideological battles have now brought us to a global sense of fulfilment. History will of course continue, as people argue discus and perform political acts, but nothing fundamental will change as there is a general acceptance of basic liberalism. However, even if this is true, it does not spell the end for ideologies all together just ideological conflict. Ideologies will still have a place in politics, even if it is just in the form of liberalism.

It is also argued that ideologies will never become redundant ...

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