Political ideology: what is it and what does it eat with

Political ideology is one of the most influential forms of political consciousness, the impact of which is aimed at the content of power relations. This concept first appeared in the 18th century. From that time various scientific approaches to this phenomenon began to take shape. The first time this term was used in 1796 by the French philosopher D. de Tracy, who defined political ideology as the science of ideas, which exists to study their origin in society. Ideology proclaims the political values ​​of a certain group of people and puts forward the desire of the same group for leadership.

It should highlight the main functions of political ideology, that is, those necessary changes that should occur in the minds of citizens with its help:

1. Orientational. The process orientates policy subjects in the value system of a particular social group.

2. Mobilization. Ideology regulates political activity and indicates its principles to followers.

3. Integrating. The system rejects private interests and serves as a unifying element in a particular social group.

Note that political ideology, along with the main functions, performs a number of additional:

1. The legitimacy of power.

2. Cognitive function. Ideology, being a reflection of the society that produced it, bears within itself the real life problems and contradictions. Its designs are a natural form in which groups recognize their position.

3. Normative. Various ideological trends create many normative guidelines.

4. Constructive, the essence of which is most fully manifested during the adoption of a political program.

5. Compensatory. Political ideologists not only attach social significance to actions, but also inspire hope for a successful change in the way of life, thereby compensating for social discontent and discomfort of existence.

Political ideology acts as a way of political development of society. The fact is that its dominant form is rooted in the constitution of the state, thus becoming already a state ideology.

Note that political ideology is understood as a system of ideas that are aimed at expressing the interests of all subjects of political activity and at creating a theoretical base for organized political decisions. Its design is carried out by means of a theory, which is then concretized in party programs and already has an impact on real politics.

Any political ideology is analyzed according to two plans:

1. Explicit, the essence of which is presented in openly put forward ideas and requirements.

2. Hidden, i.e. here, those interests are fixed that are protected and represented by a specific political ideology.

The thing is that at present, many social actors present their ideology as a set of interests of the whole society, but they do not specifically talk about those whose desires they protect and represent.

A feature of ideology in politics is that it focuses on the expression of the needs of a significant social subject. As a rule, the matter concerns political and economic interests. Thus, political ideology is aimed at economic interest and the power and financial political nature. Of course, goals can be not only global, but also of local importance. However, their essence remains unchanged.

All political ideologies have enormous potential, thanks to which it is possible to manipulate public consciousness. And they will exist as long as there is a socially stratified society in nature.