Political Ideologies

The meaning of the term political ideology can be ambiguous, due in large part to differing understandings of the word ideology. In everyday usage, ideology has a pejorative connotation: the ideology of another person or group is seen to distort or distract from social and political realities. This usage contrasts “ideology” with “truth” and understands the former to be biased and the latter to be value neutral. Everyday usage of “ideology” differs from academic applications. In Marxist thought, ideology is linked to class. The ideology of the ruling class is thought to pervade the lower classes: the latter suffer from “false consciousness,” that is, they are tricked into accepting a social and political order that is not in their interest. In feminist thought, ideology is linked to gender. Ideology has been used to theorize how women are conditioned to accept a sexist (or patriarchal) social and political order. Political ideology and ideology are related but distinct concepts. Political ideology can be defined as a comprehensive set of ideas that attempt to make sense of the social and political world and provide a foundation for action. In other words, political ideologies have two dimensions: first, how society should be organized and function; and second, the best way to achieve these goals.

Following from the second dimension, political ideologies are concerned with the justification of authority (that is, demonstrating that a particular form of authority will benefit society). To examine political ideologies is to examine the content of these ideologies and how they concretely impact people as well as assess the nature of ideology in a more abstract manner. As such, political ideologies are important to women today less because of the way ideology has been theorized in academic feminism (or elsewhere) and more because of how different political ideologies have played a significant role in women's lives.

All contemporary political ideologies are gendered, including liberalism, socialism, conservatism, nationalism, [Page 1113]and fascism. In setting out how society ought to be organized and function, political ideologies involve an understanding of gender-appropriate behavior. For example, conservatism understands women's inequality as both natural and functional. Men “by nature” are assertive, rational and logical, and women “by nature” are passive, emotional, and nurturing. Women's inequality is functional in that the traditional division of labor—in which women are stay-at-home mothers and helpmates to their male partners—is seen to benefit society as a whole. Political ideologies also are gendered in that women are used as symbols representing ideological goals.

For example, nationalism often involves an idealized figure of a woman, often a mother, representing the nation. Such images here would be the Statue of Liberty, Mother India, Mother Ireland, and Mother Russia. Finally, political ideologies are gendered in their understandings of authority. For example, liberalism understands power as existing primarily within institutions of the state, namely, the legislature and courts. As such, many abuses of power affecting women, such as domestic violence, have not always been treated seriously. In this entry, the basic ideas of each of the political ideologies of liberalism, socialism, conservatism, nationalism, and fascism will be considered along with further concrete implications for women today.

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