I understood ideology to be an individual’s belief system according to political socialization. Political socialization is essentially the basis by which an individual determines their political stance. There are many factors that influence political socialization; a prominent factor being family. It’s evident that a child’s relationship with their parents can possibly influence their political views. For example, a child who had a generally healthy upbringing will most likely adopt the same political views as their parents while a child who grew up in a toxic household will rebel against their parent’s political views. However, most children grow up to adopt the same political views as their parents. Another crucial factor that affects political socialization is one’s social identity. This includes aspects such as; race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and age. It’s been noted that men are considered to have more conservative views while female values tend to be more liberal. Economic self interest is also a component in determining political stance. An individual is most likely going to align with values that benefit themselves.
Most American’s resonate between two political ideologies. This first includes the Conservative (Right) point of view, while the second includes the Liberal (Left) stance. Conservatism believes in having the smallest government possible. It is said that a large government poses a threat to individual liberty. Instead, conservatives believe in stronger individual state power rather than allocating all strength to the federal government. In doing so, they claim that lower government spending results in lower taxes. Additionally, involvement in the free market and little regulation of big businesses are components of conservative beliefs. Conservatives also believe in having a strong military therefore the government should designate much of their budget to supporting military spending. Traditional values are a crucial forefront to the conservative agenda, specifically Christian values. On the other hand, Liberalism praises a big central government. Much of liberalism was inspired by New Deal policies. Liberalists consider the government to be responsible for social and environmental issues in order to ensure the well-being of all individuals and the planet. The liberal agenda opposes heavy military spending and support tighter gun control. Instead, liberalists believe that government spending should be allocated towards minority groups and that heavier taxes should be placed on the wealthy. Although liberalists support a big government, they do not believe the government should interfere with peoples personal lives. A prominent personal issue that liberalists oppose government involvement in is the right to abortion. Government disengagement in the free market and regulation of big businesses is a key principle of liberalism.
Althusser’s definition of ideology stems from the roots of capitalism. He describes how individuals believe in principles subconsciously due to repressive and ideological intervention. The repressive component is simply described as fear. This includes the implementation of police, prisons, and courts so that people’s beliefs may align with the things that while keep them away from punishment (whether subjectively right or wrong). The ideological principle is broken down into several subcategories describes as apparatuses. These apparatuses trick the individual into investing their intellectually energy into areas that wont make a difference but give them a sense of belonging. In turn, this sense of belonging promotes subservience and obedience (breeds docile individuals). The consumer apparatus entails dressing or owning specific articles to identify with a certain social group. For example, wearing glasses and dressing preppy eludes to the individual belonging to a higher social class while articles of clothing such as ripped jeans imply otherwise. Rather than someone’s income determining social class, a falsified illusion is brought about by materialistic items. Instead of finding ways to elevate in social class (make more money), an individual will feel richer than they are through materialism, therefore not finding the need to elevate, in turn remaining docile. Another apparatus discussed in the entertainment apparatus. The average worker is more likely to identify as a sports fan rather than a worker. Because this worker identifies as a “sports fan”, they will rather attend games than to come together with other workers to protest for higher wages and better rights. By shifting one’s identity to something more entertaining, people are less likely to focus on what really matters. The last apparatus discussed was the school apparatus. This entails the concept that we are subconsciously taught as children what we should believe. Five days a week, 8 hours a day; the school system implements into our heads what should be considered wrong and what should be considered right. The mind of a child is like a sponge, constantly absorbing the stimuli of its environment.
