Ideology and Ideologies

Quote: "It is what men think that determines how they act." -- John Stuart Mill
Example: January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
- Motivated by loyalty to a leader and also by ideologies like white nationalism or neo-fascism.
- This ideology gained traction during the Trump administration.

Charleston Church Shooting (June 2015):
- A 21-year-old white man killed nine black worshipers in a church.
- Motivated by racism, white supremacy, and neo-Nazi sympathies.
- Hoped to start a race war.
- The shooter had a manifesto denigrating African Americans.
- The FBI classified it as domestic terrorism.
- Positive outcome: Removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state capital grounds.
Boston Marathon Bombing (2013):
- Two homemade bombs killed three and injured 264.
- Bombers were self-radicalized Islamists engaged in jihad against the West.
9/11 Terrorist Attacks (2001):
- 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four American airliners.
- Planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania.
- Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
- Terrorists were devout Muslims fighting a holy war against the West.
- Attacks were applauded in some Middle Eastern countries.
- Since 9/11, Islamist bombings have caused numerous deaths in various countries.
- ISIS has broadcasted beheadings and burnings.
Oklahoma City Bombing (April 19, 1995):
- A fertilizer bomb exploded in front of the Murrah Federal Building.
- 168 people, including 19 children, died.
- Over 500 people were injured, and the building was demolished.
- Perpetrated by American neo-Nazis inspired by ideas of racial purity and white power.
- Ideas from the novel The Turner Diaries inspired the bombers.

Ideologies shape people's thinking and actions regarding race, religion, nationality, government's role, gender relations, and environmental responsibility.
Sir Isaiah Berlin: Two major factors shaped the 20th century:
- Development of natural sciences and technology.
- Ideological storms (Russian Revolution, totalitarian regimes, nationalism, racism, religious bigotry).
These movements began with ideas about human relations, transformed by leaders like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao, resulting in millions of deaths.
Leon Trotsky: "Anyone desiring a quiet life has done badly to be born in the twentieth century."
Political ideologies are not fading away in the 21st century.

The 20th century was dominated by clashes between liberalism, communism, and fascism.
World War II: Communist Soviet Union allied with Western liberal democracies against fascism.
Cold War: Communist and liberal allies became enemies.
Collapse of communism led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
The world transitioned to a complex state of hot wars, culture wars, and terrorism.
Conflicts include:
- Militant nationalists and racists.
- White racists and black Afrocentrists.
- Religious fundamentalists and secular humanists.
- Gay liberationists and traditional values groups.
- Feminists and anti-feminists.
- Suicide bombers and terrorists.

Insight can be gained by examining the words of proponents and placing their actions in context.
Ideologies arise from specific backgrounds and circumstances, often due to a sense of grievance or injustice.
Understanding the past and the thinkers that influenced an ideology is crucial.
John Maynard Keynes: "The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else."
Practical men are often influenced by defunct economists, and madmen derive frenzy from academic scribblers.
Ignoring the past risks repeating mistakes.
Understanding political ideologies helps us navigate the world and our own beliefs.
Reading and thinking about ideologies is not advocating for them, but understanding motivations.
Ignoring offensive ideas does not make them disappear.

The aim is to lay a foundation for understanding ideology.
Ideologies should be related to their historical context, arising in response to real or perceived crises.
Ideologies change in response to circumstances, leading to perplexing results.
Political ideologies are dynamic and shape social change.
Understanding the dynamic nature of ideologies requires recognizing their roots in historical circumstances.

People need each other to survive and flourish, but differences arise.
Politics is resolving differences without force, through discussion, debate, and compromise.
Ideologies address differences based on ideas, ideals, and principles.
Example: Building a new school.
- Practical problem: Location (resolved through compromise).
- Ideological problem: Public vs. private school (more intractable).
Differences over school curriculum and values also involve ideological differences.

The term "ideology" originally meant the scientific study of ideas.
Now, it refers to a set or system of ideas linking thought with action.
Ideology: A fairly coherent and comprehensive set of ideas that:
- Explains and evaluates social conditions.
- Helps people understand their place in society.
- Provides a program for social and political action.

Explanation: Offers reasons why social, political, and economic conditions are as they are.
- Examples:
  - Marxist: Wars are due to capitalists competing for markets.
  - Fascist: Wars test a nation's will.
  - Libertarian: Inflation is due to government interference.
  - Black liberationist: Social problems stem from white racism.
Evaluation: Supplies standards for evaluating social conditions.
- Libertarian: Evaluates policies based on government's role.
- Feminist: Evaluates policies based on women's interests.
- Communist: Evaluates policies based on the working class.
Orientation: Provides a sense of identity and how a person relates to the world.
- Examples:
  - Communist: Member of the working class.
  - Nazi: White person preserving racial purity.
  - Feminist: A woman ending sexual oppression.
Program: Tells followers what to do and how to do it.
- Examples:
  - Communist: Raise working-class consciousness and overthrow capitalism.
  - Nazi: Isolate and exterminate inferior races.
  - Libertarian: Reduce government interference.
  - Traditional conservative: Government intervention to promote morality.

Ideologies are not scientific theories, although proponents may claim they are.
Scientific theories are empirical and describe/explain the world, not prescribe actions.
Ideologies often borrow from and distort scientific theories.

Political theories perform the same four functions as ideologies but at a higher, more abstract level.
Ideologies simplify political philosophies to make them accessible to the masses.

Ideologies can take on characteristics of a religion for their followers.
Religions concern the supernatural, while political ideologies concern the social and political world.