- Ideology is the beliefs that we have as individuals that leads us to identify with a specific political party. We all come from different backgrounds and we have different needs and wants; these needs and wants are what makes us decide which party is more convenient for us. Race, ethnicity, and social class are a big influence on whether we are far right, center or far left.
For example, minorities like Latinos and African Americans who are politically involved tend to choose to support the center left and far left which is the Liberal party. To better understand why it is important to note the characteristics of the Liberal left. The Liberal left believes in things like decreasing the money invested in the military and using more towards social causes, a big government who is involved with the public and higher taxes. The higher taxes are used for things like welfare and more government involvement. Minorities who are in need and need support from the government are likely to be in the center left through far left.
Some people won’t like all the qualities of a party but one fits them better than others. Like said in the video “Althusser on Capitalist Ideology and State Apparatus”, political parties are all similar; they just make us feel like we have a choice. There is an ideology for everyone, and for each one there is a political side. With this said, nothing changes but the position.
2. I understand the difference between the conservative and liberal ideology in US politics because I see conservative as being more capitalists. The Conservatives support the corporate elites and lower taxes because they believe “rich and poor pretty much get what they deserve” (Parent, 52). While Liberals believe in “advancing education, providing jobs for everyone able to work, sufficient aid to the disabled…” (Parenti, 55). In conclusion, the division line would be that one side (Conservatives) supports having a very few people be successful while the other side (Liberals) supports more involvement of the government with people in need.
3. I understood that Althusser’s position on ideology was that he thought all was the same. He believes that while people have the illusion of having a choice they will remain calm. This means that all sides have the same purpose but they mask it into different ideas so the public has a choice. Through different apparatuses like the entertainment apparatus the population is blind to what is really happening politically.
Hey! I like your explanation of every question you answered and agree with the points you shared.