Ideology

Ideology

Ideology. [1] “From French idéologie ‘study or science of ideas.’” [2] “Systematic set of ideas, doctrines through which the world is interpreted”. Etymology online. Ideology. [1] “A set of ideas that an economic or political system is based on.” [2] “A set of beliefs, especially one held by a particular group, that influences the way people behave.” Oxford Learner’s Dictionary. Ideology. “A set of beliefs or principles, especially one on which a political system, party, or organization is based.” Cambridge Dictionary. 

The care taken when defining and utilizing this term cannot be downplayed. The importance of it cannot be understated. The power it wields cannot be underestimated. And yet this is what is happening in both contemporary culture and contemporary counterculture. Modern politicism, media, and education have ignored the weightiness that ideology carries, and are often fraught with internal contradictions and lack of identity. This critical position is taken by one who recognizes obvious egregious errors within the major players of these three mediums for output, and who seeks to provide a clear corrective measure that will strengthen the production and presentation of conservatism. 

In this exposition, the main points I want to establish are (1) that ideology is in implicitly present in every assertion made, (2) that a well ordered ideology is a necessary first ingredient to any serious output of media or education, and (3) that ideology precedes the aspects of consistency and identity. While both those terms deserve their own analysis, ideology is the groundwork for their very existence, much less discussion. 

The exordium above gives a selection of various definitions of the term ideology, but it is worth looking deeper into the components carried by the term in greater detail. Key terms used in these definitions are ‘study’ (the direct translation of the suffix ‘ology’), ‘set of beliefs’, and most importantly, from the etymology, ‘doctrines through which the world is interpreted’. The dictionary definitions are technical breakdowns about the word, but there are deeper implications for the purpose of an ideology within organizations and groups that are not taken into account. Ideology is the reason why something even starts in the first place. It is required for a vision, for a goal, for expansion. Ideology lies inherent within everyone whether they know it or not, and always influences their actions. The primary account for this is found within its etymology, as the ‘doctrines through which the world is interpreted’ amount simply to a ‘worldview’. Ideology even precedes a worldview, however, since a worldview is localized to the person who possesses it. It cannot subsist on its own. Ideology is a ‘set’ of ideas. Ideas that exist unattached to any human agent. Champion of classical liberals and one of the founders of social contract theory, John Locke, discussed thoroughly innate ideas that can only be reached by empirical examination.  George Berkeley similarly built his philosophies around the theory that nothing in the world is more than just an idea, and these ideas compose our entire existence and mode of living. The reason for invoking these philosophies is to give greater emphasis to the word ‘set’. Ideas in and of themselves compose and are accommodating of everything. And if they are all inclusive, then they ultimately convey no meaning. Meaning is only brought by the individual agent who groups specific ideas together in order to create a coherent, exclusive thought. This thought consists of ideas that relate to each other and are selective, so that one does not include both an idea and its contrary. For example, a worldview cannot contain both the idea that the earth is round, and the idea that the world is flat. Even though both of these ideas exist in logical space, they cannot be grouped together in the same thought and retain consistency.

So before coming to a conclusive worldview, a person must first organize a set from the infinite amount of ideas that exist. This grouping formation is what an ideology is, and the result of the grouping is a worldview. When looking at the concept of ideology from this perspective, as something built from the ground up from parts out of a bottomless toolbox, one can reach two conclusions. First, that an ideology must necessarily be consistent in order to separate it from an arbitrary selection from the infinite pool of ideas. Second, there are orders of ideologies, and some are stronger than others. Both of these conclusions can be proved by the use of mathematics. The concept of a maximally consistent set is a proven mathematical truth that necessarily exists for every category. A maximally consistent set essentially only states that there is a set of [ideas] that contains the most amount of possible ideas without including a contradiction by having two opposites within the set. If a set entails a certain idea, then it cannot include its opposite and remain consistent. Whichever set has the greatest amount of ideas entailed without contradiction is that set that is considered maximally consistent. Maximally consistent sets exist within every framework that includes an ideology. So if someone has a specific political worldview, such as conservatism or classical liberalism, there will exist for that worldview a set that entails the most amount of ideas without creating a contradiction. And whichever set contains the most is considered the maximally consistent set, and considered to be a higher order of set than one with fewer ideas included. 

The maximally consistent set theory shows how ideology is the starting point for every belief. It is also proof for orders of ideology. It should be noted that the orders are not based on quality of idea, however, but only quantity (yes, quantity is itself a quality, but of a different kind than the kind being used here). So an ideology that is on a higher order due to its proximity to the maximally consistent set of said ideology is not necessarily more correct than one below it. Yet this proof still provides grounds to make the claim that certain ideologies are objectively of higher form than others. A different metric may need to be used for ideologies not in the same framework (like how different modal logics have different criterions for proofs. See S5 as opposed to S1-4). Regardless, it is determinable that some ideologies are more complete than others. 

The reason for this exposition on ideology is because its importance is being forgotten. Many outlets commit themselves to an ideology without grasping all its essential aspects. Or worse still, they make no mention of a respective ideology and are content to allow outputs that contradict each other, weakening their already invisible ideology. The larger an organization grows, the more opportunity for contradiction within ideas arises. By adding more people as contributors, the door is opened for an inevitable clash in view. This puts growing organizations in a precarious position where they must balance the need for expansion to thrive and push their ideology with the fact that it becomes increasingly difficult to do so and remain consistent. This is the problem with modern exposition of ideas. In an effort to maximize output and notoriety, the initial ideology is often endangered. The result is an influx of inconsistency and a descent of credibility. The highest form of credibility is the one that creates an intricate set of ideas while maintaining zero inconsistencies. If a set of ideas has contradictions, then its worth is diminished. If a set does not contradict itself, but only because there are so few ideas within it, then it conveys little meaning. The only way to construct a set such as this is to slowly build ideas on top of each other while meticulously checking them to make sure there are no contradictions. This functions best with a starting idea that is the basis for the set. An idea that is of higher importance than all subsequent ideas, and thus supersedes anything that might contradict it. A source idea. When using one specific idea as a cornerstone, it becomes much easier to layer others on top of it. The result is an ideology. And the more ideas become layered, the stronger the ideology is. 

For the sake of clarity, one final addition to this definition of ideology is that it will inherently be based initially on inference. Lawyer and philosopher Dr. John Warwick Montgomery makes this point in his most recent book saying: “Inferential processes are inherent to the human being whatever his cultural milieu. Indeed, they must be presupposed in order to engage in any meaningful discussion or search for truth. Consider: any argument against logic already employs logic! And any collection of facts to disprove induction is already using inductive method!”. Ideology rests on a starting fact, and the act of grouping of ideas on top of this fact itself is itself based on an idea: the presupposition of the existence of logical truths. The maximally consistent set is a foundational idea that applies to all ideologies, whether or not they account for it. An ideology can either be a part of a consistent set, or outside it. This presupposes exclusivity within ideas. So even the initial act of starting with a source idea rests upon this foundation of exclusivity, and by definition removes the possibility for the inclusion of contrary ideas. Therefore, the creation of an ideology assumes an archetype of truth to give it meaning. If one desires their ideology to have any meaning in it, then they must necessarily assent to the notion that there are contraries and ideas that must be excluded in order to maintain consistency. And that if an ideology has meaning, then that meaning is best transmitted when there is no inconsistency. And this is a universal truth that is logically entailed with the bedrock of ideology. And if there is a universal truth, then there is a falsehood. Inconsistency, then, does not stop at destroying credibility, but is representative of a fundamental ontological problem. It is for this reason that a clear understanding of one’s own ideology is crucial for any successful or reputable outlet.