Summary

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1. Keeping in mind the material covered in this lesson, describe how you understand ideology in YOUR OWN WORDS.

Ideology is the beliefs and ideas of an individual or group of people. These beliefs and ideas can be caused by someone’s political, cultural, religious, gender, and economic backgrounds. Ideology also influences how we see the world as a society and how we use our voices to speak on our beliefs. A common example of ideology is feminism, which is based of gender roles. Feminism is the set of belief and theories that promote the achievement of social, political, and economic equality for women. As an ideology, feminism focuses on gender equality, critiques patriarchy, etc. People who actively promote feminism believe that women should have equal rights and opportunities that men do. Additionally, feminism critiques and gives their opinions about the societal structures which perpetuate male dominance, also known as patriarchy. This illustrates how ideology affects people’s view on society when it comes to equality. This is because it shows the comparison of how people in society benefit based on their political, gender, economic, etc background.

2. How do you understand the difference between conservative and liberal ideology in US politics? What seem to be the big differences, the dividing line? Given an example to backup your arguments.

The difference between conservative and liberal ideology in US politics is that conservatives like minimized government regulations, free market capitalism, and private profits. Liberals, on the other hand, advocate for environmental protection, wage laws, and social security. They also support corporate tax breaks sometimes. There are many factors that seem to be the differences in ideology in US politics. Some of these factors are the social, cultural, economic, & religious backgrounds we identify with. For example, during the 2024 election, there were many that showed the difference of votes based on the voters social, cultural, economic, & religious identity. Furthermore, one main factor that plays a role in making someone consider themselves to be liberal or conservative is how they were raised. People who were born in liberal households are more likely to be liberal when they grown up and the same goes for conservatives.

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.

Althusser’s definition of ideology is how people understand the world, however, it’s shaped by society and in places like schools, the media, religion, and families. These places shape how we think and act without us noticing. For example, in schools we are taught how to respect authority, follow rules, etc. which plays a role in helping the system to continue.