Ideologies and Civilization - Essay Example

Ideologies and Civilization Introduction Civilizations are built on the ideologies of man. Ideologies direct the activities of the people; they help determine the direction that they are going to take in order to achieve progress and development. These ideologies are varied; they are based on the history, the culture and the beliefs of the people. These ideologies range from the republican to the liberal; from the capitalist to the conservative; and from one religious extreme to another. This paper shall discuss how ideologies have managed to both help and hurt the development of civilization. I believe that ideologies cannot be definitively categorized as either helping or hurting to a civilization. In some ways, these ideologies help in the development of a civilization; and sometimes, they can also hamper its development. A more detailed discussion of this paper shall evaluate the liberal, the conservative, the capitalist, and the Islamic ideologies and how these have both helped and hurt the development of our present civilization. Discussion Along with religion and politics, ideologies shape the attitudes of the people “about the way that governments and organized and operate and the roles of rulers and citizens (Key, n.d). Throughout the years, these concepts have evolved, more often than not, from the conservative to the liberal. The ideologies are defined or described by Key (n.d) as ideal political beliefs or systems which define the rules for achieving and maintaining said systems. Authorities mostly seek to protect and defend these ideologies because they see it as the ultimate goal of the community; those who seek to change these ideologies sometimes do so by disrupting the systems in place in the country and stirring disquiet among the people. In the earliest rumblings of political systems, the conservative ideology came about as a reaction to the radicalism seen during the French Revolution where conservatives “blamed the bloodbath on the Enlightenment idea that human beings could consciously create political society” (New Mexico State University, 2006). The conservative ideology was able to effectively temper the radical activities seen during the French Revolution and consequently was able to prevent further bloodbath and the execution of more extremist views and actions. Carlton discusses that the conservative ideology is mostly associated with the religious beliefs and practices in the country or community. “As such it would uphold the structural and institutional norms of that society whilst at the same time legitimating its traditions” (Carlton, 1997). In this sense, the beliefs and systems of the dominant religion is institutionalized through the ideology which is adapted by the society. Through the conservative ideology, stability and order is brought into the community because the status quo is protected. However, this conservative ideology can also hurt society when important changes need to be implemented. This was blatantly obvious in American history when we consider the White Supremacist Movement, the events leading up to the American Civil War, and in the ongoing discriminatory practices against racial minorities in the United States (Myrdal and Bok, 2002). Before slavery was abolished in the United States, most Southern states of the US protected their conservative ideologies—that of white supremacy and of refusing to grant equal rights and liberties to the African Americans. These same ideologies were also protected by white supremacist movements which again refused equal rights and opportunities for the African Americans and for other racial minorities (Myrdal and Bok, 2002). It may actually be postulated that the very strengths of the conservative ideology may actually be its weakness as it helps preserve and keep the stability and peace of the nation without allowing any other progressive disruptions to interfere with such stability and peace. And yet, it is through these progressive disruptions and changes that we change and become better people and better nations. The liberal ideology can also both hamper and help the development of civilization. Liberalism is often evaluated in the context of conservatism, where the principles espoused in both ideologies usually contrast each other. Liberalism has made progress and development possible, even to the most radical and bloodiest extreme. “Virtually every step forward in our history has been a liberal initiative taken over conservative opposition: civil rights, Social Security, Medicare, rural electrification, the establishment of minimum wage, collective bargaining, the Pure Food and Drug Act and federal aid education, including the land grant colleges, to name just a few” (McGovern, 2002). These advancements have now made possible the different privileges we enjoy today. However, these liberal ideologies have also hurt civilization in many ways. The moral decay seen in many societies can often be attributed to uncontrolled and undefined liberalist ideas and actions. Liberalists would be the first to admit that “we need conservatives…to challenge liberal ideas and proposals and to impel us to examine their soundness… (McGovern, 2002). Many political analysts point out that moral decadence is a dangerous feature of liberalism. These analysts cite pornography and such other controversial and immoral activities as dangerous elements in society which can potentially lead to other more dangerous activities. “By encouraging the baser instincts of mankind, pornography leads to decadence and moral decay” (Rapport, 2007). Again, we can objectively assess how liberalism can bring about both advantages and disadvantages to our civilization. As a society, we need the spur that liberalism brings us, however, we also have to be prepared to manage this ideal in order to avoid destroying the basic moral tenets of our society. The capitalist ideology is founded on the principles of economics. “Capitalist ideology represents everything, including labor, as a commodity” ( Grossberg, p. 210). This ideology sees the world in terms of what each individual or what each resource can contribute in terms of profit and consumables. This ideology has helped many nations which are currently the economic success stories in the world to get to where they are today. The United States, various European nations, and many emerging nations in Asia have been founded on this ideology. This ideology has helped societies mature, to “free the individual from traditional bonds…[and] contributed tremendously to the growth of an active, critical, responsible self…” (Forever Becoming, 2009). This ideology has helped societies to discover their potentials, to be free from the limits and barriers to success. Through this ideology, the concept of competition has allowed the marketing of goods to be at their utmost quality while still being affordable to most people. This system benefits the consumer who can have his pick and his choices considered by the manufacturers and businessmen (Forever Becoming, 2009). Advancement in this ideology is also based on fair and equal terms. There is no dominance or monopoly in this ideology and consequently, the quality of life of the people, the quality of services rendered and of goods produced is greatly improved. This ideology also has the potential of endangering civilization. In civilizations where the economy is already dominated by the rich and the powerful members of society, it is the poor who is often made to suffer the spoils of this capitalist ideology. In some instances, this ideology can drive the poor members of the community deeper into poverty. Due to limited resources, the poor can hardly keep up with the demands of a capitalist ideology. They find it hard to compete with the more trained and highly-skilled individuals who are able to afford the most expensive training in school. Consequently, these poor are relegated to low-paying menial jobs which can hardly improve their economic situation in life. Leone and Potter (1999) discuss that for the farm tenants in the United States, the capitalist economy is more hurtful than helpful. In farm tenancy, “people are paid very poor wages, are charged a great deal for basic resources…[and they] become encompassed by ideology that profit goes to others non-violently” (Leone and Potter, 1999). And again we see in this ideology or system how the rich tend to get richer, sometimes, at the expense of the poor members of society. The Islamic ideology is one of the most controversial ideologies in the world. With the rise of the Islamic extremists, this ideology has been (often wrongly) blamed for various terrorist attacks and other similar violent attacks against Christians and democratic societies. The principles of this ideology are largely based on the teachings of Muhammad and of Qur’an. Islam is not only an ideology to the Muslims; it is also their faith, their religion, and their belief system. In other words, it is their way of life (Jonsson, p. 52). This ideology has helped build the foundations of the Muslim community all over the world. It has helped define their life, their politics, their economy, and their belief systems. This ideology puts God over man; that man should live according to God’s teachings, and that man is not the sovereign over his affairs (Jonsson). Through these beliefs, Muslim society is mandated to follow the teachings of Islam; to allow it to pervade every aspect of their life. Islam speaks of the self-awareness of sin, the obedience of God, of prayer, of fasting, of charity, and of respect for life (Oda, 2006). This ideology unites thousands of Muslims around the world. As such, they are a truly united people, wherever they, and whatever they may actually be doing. The sustenance of this society and of other societies, as well, is their common beliefs and practices. Islam has managed to accomplish this unity through their Islamic ideology. Moreover, the “Islamic creed builds up a responsible and disciplined attitude of life among individuals” (Witness-Pioneer, 2002). Islamic ideology has also helped civilization by teaching its followers about the merit system, that “merit is attained by virtue of purity of morals and fear of God and not on account of race, genealogy goods, wealth, or the white of pink color of the skin” (Witness-Pioneer, 2002). This ideology, however, has also hurt civilization. Muslim extremists have taken the teachings of Islam to its most extreme interpretation. As a result, these extremists’ belief systems have endangered the peace of non-Muslims and Western nations in the past several decades. These extremists believe that since many Western nations do not live by the Islamic creed and they value man over God’s supremacy, these western nations should be punished. Hence, we have seen many attacks against Western nations in the name of Islam (Eikmeier, 2007). These attacks, per se, are not actually credited to Islam as an ideology, however, many extremists have unfortunately done so to the great detriment of the true concepts espoused by the Islam ideology. The discussion above exemplifies how ideologies have both hurt and helped civilization. The conservative ideology has served as the foundation of our society. It has helped maintain and sustain the status quo, making possible the stability of civilization as it seeks to progress through subsequent years of development. However, this ideology has also hurt society by hampering and limiting progress. This weakness is the very strength of the liberal ideology. Uncontrolled and excessive liberalism also hurts civilization as it often leads to the moral decay of society. Capitalism also helps the progress and development of society; however, it can also drive the poor members of society into even deeper levels of poverty. With the above concepts, we now come to understand how ideologies can both help and hurt civilization. Works Cited Carlton, E. (1977) Ideology and social order. New York: Routledge Conservative Ideology (2006) New Mexico State University. Retrieved 01 December 2009 from http://www.nmsu.edu/~govdept/faculty/Baker/spring06/Ideologies-conservative.ppt Effects of capitalist ideology on the psychology of the individual (26 October 2009) Forever Becoming. Retrieved 01 December 2009 from http://www.foreverbecoming.com/2009/10/playing-art-game-capitalism-and-its_2596.html Eikmeier, D. (2007) Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic-Fascism. US Army War College. Retrieved 01 December 2009 from http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/07spring/eikmeier.pdf Grossberg, L. (2006) Mediamaking: mass media in a popular culture. California: Sage Publications Impact of the Islamic Ideology (16 September 2002) Witness-Pioneer. Retrieved 01 December 2009 from http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/M_II/ch09.htm Jonsson, D. (2006) Islamic Economics and the Final Jihad: The Muslim Brotherhood to the Leftist/Marxist. USA: International Bible Society Key, J. (n.d) Ideology, Religion, and Politics: The History of a Changing Concept. Daniel Lazar. Retrieved 01 December 2009 from http://www.daniellazar.com/wp-content/uploads/ideology-religion-and-politics-breifing-paper-4p.doc Leone, M. and Potter, P. (1999) Historical archaeologies of capitalism. New York: Plenum Publishers McGovern, G. (December 2002) The case for liberalism: A defense of the future against the past. Harper’s Magazine. Retrieved 01 December 2009 from http://humanities.psydeshow.org/political/mcgovern.htm Myrdal, G. and Bok, S. (2002) An American dilemma: the Negro problem and modern democracy, Volume 1. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers Oda, Y. (20 January 2006) The Basic Teachings of Islam. Institute of Oriental Philosophy. 01 December 2009 from http://www.iop.or.jp/0616/oda.pdf Rapport, A. (26 March 2007) Unexpected Affinities? Neoconservatism, Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism as Explanatory Theories. University of Minnesota. Retrieved 01 December 2009 from http://www.polisci.umn.edu/~mirc/paper2006-07/spring2007/rapport.pdf Read More