Ideology: A Very Short Introduction

by Freeden, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780192802811
• ISBN10: 019280281X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-12-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Ideology is one of the most controversial terms in the political vocabulary, exciting both revulsion and inspiration. This book examines the reasons for those views, and explains why ideologies deserve respect as a major form of political thinking. It investigates the centrality of ideologyboth as a political phenomenon and as an organizing framework of political thought and action. It explores the changing understandings of ideology as a concept, and the arguments of the main ideologies. By employing the latest insights from a range of disciplines, the reader is introduced to thevitality and force of a crucial resource at the disposal of societies, through which sense and purpose is assigned to the political world.

Author Biography

Michael Freeden is Professor of Politics at Oxford University and Director of its Centre for Political Ideologies, and is Professorial Fellow at Mansfield College, Oxford.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. ix
Should ideologies be ill-reputed?	p. 1
Overcoming illusions: how ideologies came to stay	p. 12
Ideology at the crossroads of theory	p. 31
The struggle over political language	p. 45
Thinking about politics: the new boys on the block	p. 67
The clash of the Titans: the macro-ideologies	p. 78
Segments and modules: the micro-ideologies	p. 94
Discursive realities and surrealities	p. 103
Stimuli and responses: seeing and feeling ideology	p. 114
Conclusion: why politics can't do without ideology	p. 122
References and further reading	p. 129
Index	p. 135
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