1. Ideology is an individuals inner beliefs. It delves into ones morals, what they believe is right or wrong. Shaping how people interact with and think of society and the government. It’s subjective, as it differs from person to person. But, ideologies can be shared. Everyone has their individual reasons for aligning under an ideology. Political socialization is the way people develop their own ideologies, the main factors in this being family, social groups and economic standing. An example of an ideology would be conservatism. Conservatives stand for a government that isn’t too hands on with their people because it allows them freedom. They value keeping the church intertwined with the state, a ‘traditional’ family, free markets and a strong military. Since conservatives place heavy emphasis on family, someone is prone to align under this ideology if their parents are conservative.

2. Conservative and liberal ideology have major differences in US politics. Conservatives value freedom, a restricted government, and tradition. Liberals value equality, government involvement and social progression. A key difference would be their stances on government involvement. Conservatives strive for a government that has limited engagement with their people. Since there’s less involvement, people wouldn’t have to pay as many taxes because government funded programs wouldn’t exist. On the other hand, liberals believe that government involvement is a necessity. To liberals, government involvement would make sure social programs like retirement funds, public education and Medicare are able to exist, and help the lives of many different people.

3. Althusser sees ideology as something that is taught to better benefit a capitalist society, not the people. Ideology is something that gets people to act against their best interests. He believes that ideology isn’t something that people are born with, that instead, it’s a kind of conditioning people go through. Althusser describes two apparatus that enforces these conditions so people can better serve a capitalist society, repressive and ideological apparatus. The repressive apparatus is the threat of jail time for falling out of line. While ideological apparatus serves as the main motivator behind Althusser’s theory. It includes schools, politics and mass media as a means of control. For an example, the way school and the education system is set up. In school, discipline is taught. It teaches people to be obedient. If you show up late, skip a class, or go against a school schedule, you get presented with detention or you’re seen as a delinquent. This ties into Althusser’s belief, that if you don’t fall into the order that was made up, you’ll be punished.