1.) “Ideology” is a word that may seem quite easy for many of us to say. But what about it’s meaning? This is where things may start to become rather complicated because it is typically used for a subject that stems for controversial debate, in other words politics. From my understanding, I believe that ideology in politics or political ideology is defined as a “multitude of ideas,” or characteristics and concepts that are thought of from society. Most of these “ideas” that are made is in connection to how the government handles various issues that are often spoken about. Now, considering that people have different viewpoints on how the government handles things, people often become divided. For example, there are two groups of people; “Liberals” and “Conservatives.” In short, liberals are individuals who believe that the government can aid in solving many problems. While the conservatives are the complete opposite, they want less of the government’s help and involvement. Let’s think of the topic of taxes, everyone who works legally must pay it. Liberals want a progressive tax system so that there will be higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations. They see this as a means of collecting enough money so that there is funding for various issues like the environment, poor/homeless people, and etc… On the other hand, the conservatives wants the government to lower it because they will then have more money to themselves. Being that taxes is one of the many topics for debate when it comes to the government, it is not the only thing that creates a division in perspective between these two groups.

For me, the concept of ideology on the whole was something that I was able to define on my own because I was able to comprehend the difference between liberals and conservatives. Despite the fact that they are groups that have different perspectives, they share the common goal of discussing the government. The government has the “highest power” in a way, they are able to invoke change over the entire country and oversee that it’s people are aware of the rules and regulations. Individuals of society obviously do not have as much power but can voice their ideas and concerns in hopes that changes that the government makes are one’s they agree with. Everyone has different perspectives, thus, most of the ideas that are generated from various issues differ greatly. Being able to think of their ideas made me realize what ideology in politics is all about.

2.) When you think of the two different groups; the liberals and conservatives, you come to understand that they have quite difference in opinion based on each other’s ideology. For starters, there are the liberals who are individuals that believe that the government can solve problems, an even bigger one is better. They also support government intervention when it comes to regulations and taxes because it will benefit minorities, women, and the poor. Not to mention, they want to see that the environment gets the necessary care that it needs and that spending be cut for national defenses. All in all, they are people that prefer to have social problems be taken care of. On the other hand, there are the conservatives that want the total opposite. They prefer the national government to be as small as possible because they feel it is a threat to “individual liberty.” They also believe in “free market” and think the government should continue funding the national defense but have lower spending because it will aid in having less taxes. Considering that we know a bit about each side’s perspective, I think the biggest difference between the two is that they don’t agree on how much the government should be involved in people’s personal lives. For instance, according to the video “Political Ideology: Crash Course Government and Politics #35,” it states (timestamp: 2:35-2:40), “The social sphere is where we differ significantly from our libertarian friends who don’t see any role for government in people’s personal lives. This means that libertarians often support things like marijuana legalization that more traditional conservatives do not support.” This quote from the video is a prime example as to how their perspectives differ greatly when it comes to the government’s involvement in people’s live. Conservatives aim to want their personal liberty, by having the government more involved or a bigger one, it restricts people from being their own man. They see it as a threat to their freedom and less of a protector. Individual liberty is the biggest difference between both sides and following this would be taxes.

3.) When Althusser created his definition of ideology, I believe what he was trying say is that we create beliefs that we accept and stand by without consciously knowing that you believe. The reality that we are in allows us to reinforce those beliefs so we are in between the lines of having what is in our minds versus what is in reality so that we make good agents of society. For example, the way you dress makes you think that you can be defined a certain way in reality. In the video “Althusser on Capitalist Ideology and State Apparatuses,” (Timestamp: 6:50-6:55) states, “Sure, you can define yourself as a Soc or a Greaser by wearing different clothes and maybe get some community out of it but again, nothing much will change.” This quote from the text is a prime example of how what we think or our “ideology” corresponds to the reality that we live in. By wearing a different set of clothes, you think that you will be able to change your identity in a way but you are still the same person; just living in a fake reality. Althusser’s perspective of ideology was very different but had a point!