Л. 15. Translate from English into Russian

TEXT 4: THE END OF IDEOLOGY?

Much of the debate about ideology in the late twentieth century was focused on predictions of its demise, or at least of its fading relevance. This has come to be known as the 'end of ideology' debate. It was initiated in the 1950s, stimulated by the collapse of lascism at the end of the Second World War and the decline of communism in the developed West. In 'The End of Ideology?: On the Exhaustion of Political Ideas in the 1950s' (1960), the US sociologist Daniel Bell declared that the stock of political ideas had been exhausted. In his view, ethical and ideological questions had become irrelevant because in most western societies parties competed 1Ы power simply by promising higher levels of economic growth and material affluence. In short, economics had triumphed over politics. However, the process to which Bell drew attention was not so much.m end of ideology as the emergence of a broad ideological consensus.imongst major parties that led to the suspension of ideological debate.!he ideology that prevailed in the 1950s and 1960s was a form of welfare capitalism, which in the UK and elsewhere took the form of a Keynesian-welfarist consensus.

A more recent contribution to this debate was made by Francis I ukuyama¹ (his essay 'The End of History?', 1989). Fukuyama did

¹ Francis Fukuyama (bom 1952) - US social analyst and political Kimmentator, claimed that the history of ideas had ended with the пч-ognitioii of Liberal democracy as the final form of human government.

not suggest that political ideology had become irrelevant, but rather that a single ideology, liberal democracy, had triumphed over all its rivals, and that this triumph was final. This essay was written against the background of the collapse of communism in eastern Europe, which Fukuyama interpreted as indicating the demise of Marxism-Leninism as an ideology of world-historical importance. An alternative way ofinterpreting these developments, however, is offered by postmodernism, which suggests that the major ideologies, or 'grand narratives', were essentially products of a period of modernisation that has now passed. On the other hand, the very assertion of an end of ideology, an end of history, or an end of modernity can be seen as ideological in itself. Rather than heralding the final demise of ideology, such assertions may merely demonstrate that ideological debate is alive and well, and that the evolution of ideology is a continuing and perhaps unending process.

Ex. 16. What do you think?

• What is political ideology?

• What are the characteristic themes, theories and principles of each of the major ideologies?

• How have the major ideologies changed over time?

• Has ideology come to an end? Could ideology come to an end?

Ex. 17. Translate into Russian and discuss in class:

SUMMARY

• Ideology is a controversial political term that has often carried pejorative implications. In the social-scientific sense, a political ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides a basis for organised political action. Its central features are an account of existing power relationships, a model of a desired future, and an outline of how political change can and should be brought about.

• Every ideology can be associated with a characteristic set of principles and ideas. Although these ideas 'hang together' in the sense that they interlock in distinctive ways, they are only systematic or coherent in a relative sense. All ideologies thus embody a range of rival traditions and internal tensions. Conflict within ideologies is thus sometimes more passionate than that between ideologies.

• Ideologies are by no means hermetically sealed and unchanging

systems of thought. They overlap with one another at a number of points, and they sometimes have shared concerns and a common vocabulary. They are also always subject to political or intellectual renewal, both because they interact with, and influence the development of, other ideologies, and because they change over time as they are applied to changing historical circumstances.

• Ideological conflict in the twentieth century has forced major ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism and socialism to reexamine their traditional principles, and it has fostered the growth of new ideologies, such as feminism, ecologism and religious fundamentalism.

• Debate about the end of ideology has taken a number of forms. In the early post-Second-World-War period, it was linked to the declining appeal of fascism and communism and the view that economic issues had displaced ideological ones. The 'end of history' thesis suggests that liberal democracy has triumphed worldwide. Postmodernism implies that conventional ideologies are irrelevant, as they were product of an earlier period of modernisation.

Kx. 18. Comment on:

'The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways: the point is to change it' (Karl Marx: Theses on Feuerbach, 1845).

V,\. 19. Discussion questions:

I Why has the concept of Ideology so often carried negative

connotations? 1. Is it any longer possible to distinguish between Liberalism and

Socialism? У To what extent do new right ideas conflict with those of

traditional conservatism? ■I. Has Marxism a future?

v What circumstances are most conducive to de-rise of fascism? f> Do anarchists demand the impossible? 7. Why have feminism, ecologism and fundamentalism grown in

significance? Do they have the potential to displace

conventional political creeds? м. Is it possible to do away with Ideology?

UNIT 4