Page 20 - Flipbook: Sociology Shortcuts Issue 3
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ideology A system of
interrelated
Joseph (1990) argues all ideologies are
constructed around a set of basic and
fundamental beliefs whose ultimate purpose beliefs
is to explain something, such as:
� the meaning of life (scientific and religious
ideologies). The advertising propaganda surrounding
Apple technology, such as the iPhone and
� the nature of family organisation (familial iPad, has been both subtle and convincing:
ideologies). Apple is now one of the largest corporations
by value in the world (in 1996 it was
� the superiority / inferiority of selected estimated to only be weeks away from
social groups (such as sexist or racist bankruptcy…).
ideologies). For our purpose the importance of ideologies
is less whether they are objectively true or
While the content of ideologies is obviously objectively false and more the extent to
important, of greater interest here is their which they're believed.
function.
Henderson (1981), for example, takes the
All ideologies, for example, include elements concept of ideology a little further when she
of propaganda, as those who believe in a argues
particular ideological viewpoint seek to
convince others about their way of thinking. "An ideology is a pattern of ideas, both
factual and evaluative [based on values],
In some forms propaganda may be crude and which claims to explain and legitimise the
unsophisticated, such as the anti-Jewish social structure and culture of a particular
propaganda produced by the German Nazi group in society".
party before and during the 2nd World War,
while in others it may be highly In other words, ideologies provide
sophisticated. justifications for behaviour in that they
"justify social
actions which are in
accordance with
that pattern of
ideas"; treating men
different to women,
for example, is
justified in some
eyes by patriarchal
ideologies.
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