Suchergebnisse

"THEORIES of Government!" exclaims Thomas Carlyle in the early pages of The French Revolution. "Such has been, and will be; in ages of decadence. Acknowledge them in their degree; as processes of Nature, who does nothing in vain; as steps in her great process." The social theorist of today takes more seriously than Carlyle the existence of ideology, for ideology is an expression of spiritual unrest in the face of history-making issues. In turn, ideology itself becomes a problem, and we are led to examine its nature. Especially is this true today, which is a time of passionate affirmation of ambiguous positions rather than the observation of political behavior.

The totalitarian state appeared as a state engaged in war. In the World War, for the first time in the twentieth century, the total reserves of national strength were concentrated in one great effort to destroy the enemy. The war was not the concern of the mobilized armies alone. It engaged the whole nation. "It was no longer possible (in the World War) to determine at what point the strength of the civilian population passed into the strength of the army and navy." The army and the people constituted a single unit and as such they conducted the war. As a unit they faced their threatening opponent, who presented a similar common front. "The fighting ability of the forces at the front was conditioned by the fighting ability of the people at home."

Summary: I, Ideology and the Science of Society. II, The Rôle of Ideas. III. Definitions, Ideology. Myth. Doctrine. IV, The Component Parts of Successful Ideologies. V, The Answer to the Search for Rationality. VI, Immutable Roots. VII, The Use of Myths. VIII, Expressions of Vital Interests. IX, The Claim to Scientific Objectivity and Realism. X, The Granting of the Élite Status. XI, Pretensions to Universal Values, XII, Operation Within the Framework of Conditioning. XIII, The "Wave of the Future" Principle. XIV, Prophets and Disciples. XV, Extremisms of Ethnocentrism. XVI, Glow Words. XVII, Sectarian and Factional Squabbles. XVIII, Interpreters of the Meaning of Meaning, XIX, Ideology versus Science. XX, Trends in the War of Ideologies.