IDEOLOGICAL BELIEF SYSTEMS

Question 1

define ideology

Answer 1

set of ideas, values and beliefs about the world.

• some are described as neutral because they explain how the world is
• some people use ideologies to explain how the world should be
• ideologies are passed on to the rest of the population via socialisation processes so that the majority of people accept the ideology.

Question 2

Marxist view on ideology

Answer 2

• critical of ruling class ideology and it is used to oppress the working class and justify inequality
  1) people are persuaded to believe in myth of meritocracy:all people have the same opportunities and how successful they are depends on how hard they work
• > argue this is false as some people are born into wealthy families and will have more opportunities from birth to aid success
• prevents people from questioning social inequality as they believe they are less successful due to misfortune
  2) promotes view that capitalism is the superior economic system
• social institutions which make up the superstructure EG-schools and media and ISA:promotes people to support capitalism
• prevents any social change occurring
  3) People are encouraged to value things such as money, material goods and hardwork
• maintains capitlaism as people believe they need these things to be happy
  4) people are left in a state of false class consciousness:unaware of oppression
• maintains capitalism as capitalism provides people with distractions such as entertainment and free provisions EG-education and health care so feel cared for by society

Question 3

evaluation of Marxism

Answer 3

• too deterministic.People live in a state of dual consciousness.People are aware of society problems but don’t wish to challenge them.People have consented to being ruled over by the capitalist class (negomony of leadership )
• Popper states that marxism is itself an ideology as it proposes that communism is the y it should be

Question 4

Feminist view on ideology

Answer 4

-patriarchal ideology, promotes male dominance and power within society
-encourages people to regard men as being socially, physically and emotionally superior to women->justifies the fact that most positions of power in social life tend to be held by men
EG-men make better leaders in the field of business
-portrays women as being the weaker and more emotional sex->only appropriate to take on low socioeconomic roles like childcare and domestic work
-patriarchy ideology has played a role in objectification of young women->should only be sexually attractive for the benefit of men
-women blamed for the actions of men EG-sexual assault victims are criticised for how they were dressed or behaved rather than the man being blamed
-all been used to justify actions of men

Question 5

evaluation of feminism

Answer 5

• feminists neglect to acknowledge the continuing empowerment of women in western societies
• only focuses on the impact that patriarchal ideology has women, ignores men EG- Male gaze:men appearing to be superior

Question 6

Nationlist ideology

Answer 6

• a political ideology, one of the most influential political ideas on the world
• revolves around the idea that nations are made up of communities with unique characteristics
• sociologists are in disagreement about the role nationalism plays in society

Question 7

Nationlist ideology-marxist view

Answer 7

MARXISTS

• critical of nationalism, extension of capitalism->use divide and rule tactic
• persuade w/c people to be proud of their national identity and be suspicious of those from other countries
• convinced wrongly that they have more in common with the ruling class than w/c people from other countries
• > contributes to false class consciousness as they are convinced the reason they are struggling to access higher paid jobs is because migrants are taking opportunties away from them rather than it is an issue with capitalism

Question 8

Nationalist ideology-MODERNIST

Answer 8

MODERNIST-GELLNER

• agrees nationalism benefits wealthy people
• adds that nationalism didn’t exist until emergence of modern society and industrial capitalism
• Pre industrial era people didn’t know or care about national identity and were held together in their small scale communities
• Industrial society is more complex and required people to be willing to embrace a national system of economic and laws
• promoting nationalism helped bring people together on a larger scale, encouraging them to accept a shared value system that revolved around hardwork and employment
• > benefits for ruling class as they had motivated workers who wanted to work hard under the impression it was the countries way of doing things

Question 9

Nationlists ideology-Functionlist view

Answer 9

• disagree with marxists interpretation of nationalism
• instead it is a form of civil religion which unites nations together under a shared identity
• nationalism provides people with symbols which unify them EG-national flag
• when global events occur people are reminded that the are part of a nation EG-Sports competitions ->aids social cohesion
• believe nationalism should be encouraged via the education system so people feel a sense of social solidarity with one another, helps society run smoothly

Question 10

evaluation of nationalism ideology

Answer 10

• people today are more critical than ever of their government and those in power
• unlikely that societies will have people who wholeheartedly hold patriotic views of their state