- Describe how you understand ideology in YOUR OWN WORDS.
Ideology to me, is the beliefs and values that ultimately shape and help guide a person or persons on how they understand and navigate society, politics, and life in general. Not everyone will have the exact same ideology and that could be because of the groups we are around and what are exposed to in our life time. I believe that ideologies can make a big enough impact to influence our attitudes, how we behave and how we interpret the world around us. An example of an ideology would be being for or against abortion. Being for or against abortion can be dependent on many things, such as: your families religious beliefs, the town or city you grew up in and what your local officials might have to say about the topic.
2. How do you understand the difference between conservative and liberal ideology in US politics? What seems to be the big difference? the dividing line? Give an example to back up your arguments. Hint: try to identify keywords (concepts) that play a big role in making someone consider themselves to be liberal or conservative. Then, explain in your own words what those keywords (concepts) mean.
- The difference between Conservative and Liberal are their ideologies and what and how the government should work for the people. For example, Conservatives believe that the government should have a more limited role in our society. Conservatives are also more in line with traditional marriages between a man and a women and are not usually supporters or advocates for the LGBTQ+ movement. However, on the other side, Liberals are supportive of government being involved and implementing welfare programs and equal opportunities in the education and healthcare systems. Liberals also support the freedoms for people to be able to choose who they marry (same sex, transgender etc). Liberals seem to be more open to change and ultimately the opportunity for equality across the board.
3. How do you understand Althusser’s definition of ideology? Paraphrase it in your own words. Given an example. Hint: you may have to watch the second video again, and find the few places where Althusser’s position is presented.
- How I understood Althusser’s definition of ideology is that there are a set of values in place to maintain and support the structures of powers that exist. An example that I thought about were laws, law enforcement and our justice system. These are things put in place to ultimately keep society/people “in place.” Having these elements promotes fear upon society to not do anything outside of this “box.” It is there to maintain order and structure.
