The Main Components of the Concept of Ideology - Essay Example

16th Jul 06 The term ideology derives from the Marxist past and describes the way societies are structured in a manner that permits the ruling power to achieve greatest control with the least amount of opposition. The ruling group uses various methods to promote their ideas through widespread teachings, symbols, values and art in order to conform people’s perceptions of the world and legitimize their ruling status without trying to oppress people or change thinking in forceful ways. Ideology is basically the opposite of forced brain washing. It is a passive way to ‘naturalize’ people, shape their roles and understanding and make them consider their livelihoods as natural. The term Gramsci is given to this socialization process of influencing people’s perceptions of society (Lye 1997). The concept of ideology essentially means beliefs, whether true or false, in society that has become institutionalized so they can serve the interests of a ruling class. Ideological beliefs are similar to propaganda but vary in the way that they are much more deeply embedded in the peoples conscious and influences how a person thinks about the society he or she lives in. For example, Americans tend to have certain beliefs about the nature of the democracy but may find democracies elsewhere alien if they do not follow the same pattern. Some beliefs configure our actions, like going to the polls to elect our leaders turns out to be a duty. Critics might mention that these beliefs might actually work against most people for the obscure interests of those leaders who rule America. Assuming the critic is right, then those would be ideological beliefs and represent a "false consciousness" about American democracy. The issue raised with the notion of ideology implies that there are objective truths in the world that do not depend on our idea of them in order for them to be true. The natural sciences were for quite some time in history considered as the only dependable starting place of these objective truths. The first followers of the concept of ideology supposed that by employing scientific methods, the false beliefs of ideology could be uncovered. Early Greeks thinkers contested the idea of objective truth by saying that truth lies in the eye of the beholder and that science reveals no hidden truths about the world but only helps us in reshaping things in a manner that suits the needs of the elite ruling classes. Without a clear idea of objective truth, the whole idea of ideology appears unfeasible. In history the concept of ideology faced the threat of being dated due to the doubts towards objective truths. Eagleton says false beliefs need to be saved from the postmodern version of ideology. He examines the various positions that both defenders of the concept (Marx, Lukasz, Althusser) and its critics (Nietzsche, Rorty, Derrida), among others, have taken over the years. Eagleton essentially defends the Marxist critical tradition against post-modernism and relativism. He wishes to uphold the ideological concept as a crucial tool for liberation from false beliefs and mental processes that emphasize social coercion. Eagleton tries to snub post-modern and neo-Marxist claims of the practicality of the concept of ideology. Central to the ideology of art is not that it concerns itself purely with the association between art and life, but with the nature of details and universal truth in knowledge. Eagleton maintains that in the 19th century societies exercised their power and control over the masses with the use of art or aesthetics. Power and control became embedded with aesthetics. Eagleton says, “Aesthetics refers not in the first place to art, but as the Greek aesthesis would suggest, to the whole region of human perception and sensation…” In the mid-eighteenth century, the term aesthetic did not imply the distinction between ‘art’ and ‘life’ but rather between the material and immaterial, between things and thoughts, sensations and ideas. (Eagleton pp.13) In his book Mythologies Barthes uses ‘myth’ as a synonym for `ideology in that it refers to the bulk of beliefs that uphold power relationships in society where hierarchical structures between the different groups dictate who follows who and what. Where a certain group is dominant in society, ideology promotes their values and interests. Eagleton maintains that during the eighteenth century, the new dialogue of aesthetics that emerged did not challenge political authority but highlighted the ideological predicament intrinsic in absolute power which requires it to understand ordinary life of the common man and how to rule over him (Eagleton pp.15). Eagleton in Ideology: An Introduction offers a definition of ideology: “A dominant power may legitimatize itself by promoting beliefs and values congenial to it; naturalizing and universalizing such beliefs so as to render them self-evident and apparently inevitable; denigrating ideas which might challenge it; excluding rival forms of thought, perhaps by some unspoken but systematic logic; and obscuring social reality in ways convenient to itself. Such `mystification, as it is commonly known, frequently takes the form of masking or suppressing social conflicts, from which arises the conception of ideology as an imaginary resolution of real contradictions. (Eagleton pp.5-6)” Eagleton’s above definition of ideology might be applicable to Barthes’s Mythologies. Eagleton and Barthes share this definition of ideology with both agreeing that myth is constructed by society and deemed as ‘natural’ in order for people to accept it as part of their lives. ‘Univeral truths’ thus come into play and many so called universal truths have historical origins created from ruling classes of the time. For example the simple act of bowing in front of royalty still persists today and has become naturalized in society. Opposition to this socially constructed reality are frowned upon and considered offensive. Over time these practices among others have ingrained themselves in society and concealed the tensions and problems, and have smoothed out political challenges in order to hide the real power relations in society especially between the different classes, between men and women, between coloniser and colonised. In Mythologies (Barthes pp.74-77) Barthes offers an example of how aesthetics plays an important role in the cultural identity and ideology of a nation. Wine is an important symbolic drink to the French and when the world talks of wine, the country that comes to mind is France and French wine as being the finest in the world. Wine is even given its own ideology as being associated with hospitality, virility and national identity. A ballon de rouge is the essence of Frenchness. This ‘trademarking’ of objects, animals or food with nations is common in almost all societies; from Italy where spaghetti has a national identity to India where the cow is considered holy. How embedded an aesthetic is in people’s consciousness is highlighted in the example of the hue and cry caused by France’s Monsieur Cotys presidential term of office when he was photographed at home next to a bottle of beer instead of a bottle of French wine. However even though wine is a status symbol in France, Barthes makes light the mythological associations of wine by stressing wines real position as just another product produced for large returns. He illustrates the issue of the wine-makers exploitation of the Third World, naming Algeria as an example of a poor nation compelled to cultivate its land for wine which due to their religious beliefs the populace are prohibited from drinking. Barthes stresses that the real benefit of the ideology of the aesthetic in the case of France’s wine is for socio-economic gain. Barthes essentially exposes the deceit of those aesthetics which mask their social and historical beginnings. An artist’s ideology usually survives long after the artist is gone. Whether the piece of art is a painting, a poem or a story, time preserves the essence that the work and the artist tried to convey. Art functions to communicate and celebrate the efforts and ideals of the human spirit. When Michaelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel, he created art representative of his time, when God was closer to man than He is regarded today. As the dominant power at the time, the pope had commissioned a number of painters including Michaelangelo to use art to define the culture and traditions of the elite church. With art being a tangible and well respected form of human expression the general populace would link it to the church who could further their ideological ideas with images of God’s connection to man and how following the teachings of Jesus would enhance everyone’s lives. Art also tried to convey the concept of a soul becoming immortal. Here we can see that where ideology is deeply ingrained in society, artist usually tend to create art based or supporting that ideology. This is especially true in societies where absolute rule creates the threat of sanction if its values are not followed properly. In societies where ideologies of the rulers is at odds with the public and where domination tends to be lax, artists freely express their unhappiness using art that ridicules the ideology. In the present time, more than ever, artists are more inclined to criticize or disparage the ideological positions and policies of our leaders. Different kinds of art are used to convey ideologies and influence perception. A poem is a good example of a discourse that affects the senses and the aesthetic elements that comprise the poem are open for logical study. German philosopher Alexander Baumgarten wrote that aesthetics is the “sister of logic, a feminine analogue of reason at the lower level of sensational life.” (Eagleton pp.16) The acknowledgement that the world of experience and perception cannot be sought from universal laws but warrants a unique discourse together with its own logic gives birth to aesthetics. It can also be looked as born as a woman subordinate to a man but possessing her own unique characteristics and duties to execute. Aesthetic is a term that defines a cognitive ability that is mixed in nature, illuminating the crude matter of perception and historical practice. In doing so, the internal construction of the tangible is revealed. Many would agree that the most embedded and structured beliefs in society serve the interests of the ruling class instead of the general populace, that these beliefs are not come by accidentally. References Barthes, Roland & Lavers, Annette (1972). Mythologies. Hill and Wang. Eagleton, Terry (1990). The Ideology of the Aesthetic. Blackwell Publishing, Incorporated. Eagleton, Terry (1991). Ideology : An Introduction. Verso. Lye, John (1997). Ideology – A brief guide. 13th Jul 06 Read More