(Based on the book “The Nature of Ideologies” by Peter Belohlavek)
Ideologies need to be understood because they are necessary to sustain an existing National Identity. It is self-evident that there are no universal ideologies that can sustain particular identities. Universal ideologies can work as meta-ideologies but ideologies are functional when they sustain the real archetype of a country and are represented by the establishment of the society.
Ideologies are an integration of beliefs and myths that generates a consensus to sustain the growth of a culture.
Myths are necessarily both real myths that provide solutions and fallacious myths that avoid the perception of unmanageable weaknesses.
Ideologies sustain human actions in the individual and social fields. Most of the definitions you can find on ideology are basically focused on social ideologies that deal with the social behavior of individuals.
This research was not focused on ideologies but on human behavior. Thus, we found two different ideologies that regulate, on the one hand, the individual behavior, and, on the other hand, the social behavior.
The nature of a personal ideology can be described as the integration of the individual’s social ideology and the individual ideology to define the role of the person in the society.
The social ideology is the mask that covers the inaccessible archetype of the culture while the individual ideology is the mask that covers the ethical intelligence of an individual.
Ontogenetic and Phylogenetic Evolution of Ideologies
It is accepted that ideologies evolve with the evolution of institutions, communities and cultures. It is self-evident when learning from the history of the evolution of countries.
What is not so self-evident is the fact that ideologies evolve with the evolution of individuals.
- In their childhood the dominant ideologies are “individualistic”.
- Adolescence drives to sharing with the group of colleagues which demands a “socialist” ideology.
- Youth is the time of extreme exertion of power which drives naturally to a “paternalistic” ideology.
- Finally, maturity implies minimizing the energy consumption which drives to “pluralism” meaning the understanding that multiple beliefs are functional to different goals.
Democracy is the functional integration and cohabitation of the ideologies according to the interests that need to be covered and the technologies that are available.
It can be defined that “childhood” and “adolescence” require defensive ideologies while “youth” and “maturity” allow the use of expansive ideologies.
Defensive ideologies are the basis for minimum strategies while expansive ideologies define the maximal strategy.
In a mature democratic culture all these ideologies coexist.
Segmentation of Ideologies
If we enter the essential operational level we can say that ideologies imply the integration of beliefs, technologies, interests and myths.
Individualism is the ideology in which individual rights need to prevail over the group in order to foster evolution.
This implies the existence of myths that demonstrate that the individual action is what produces the evolution of the societies.
Individualism implies the respect of the right of others but being based on the personal actions. It is the basic ideology to foster individual economic initiatives.
It is a key to entrepreneurial development. Individualism is put into action by the acceptance of plurality and sustained by the capacity to influence the environment where the person is acting.
Socialism is the ideology in which the equality of rights needs to prevail. In this context, the rules of the group can either foster or inhibit the actions of individuals.
This implies the existence of myths that demonstrate the power of group synergy. Socialism implies the recognition of individual rights and differences with others but within the limits established by the archetype of the culture.
Socialism is the key to the improvement of the distribution of the wealth produced by individual actions.
It is the next step that follows individualism in the evolution of an individual or society. It includes the individualism. Socialism is put into action by the capacity to influence the environment and is sustained by the acceptance of plurality.
Paternalism is the ideology in which institutionalization prevails and the power of duties pushes individuals’ actions.
It implies the existence of strong beliefs with the use of value adding technologies covering the common interests of the members of the community.
Paternalism implies the recognition of the superiority of objective institutional goals and possibilities. It is the next step in the evolution of a society that has achieved its adolescence.
It is based on the existence of authoritative roles in social behavior. Paternalism is the key for leadership in the evolution of cultures. It is put into action by the capacity to distribute what is produced and is sustained by the allowance of individual initiatives.
Pluralism is an ideology in which ethics prevails and the functionality of the rules is what guides the actions of the members of a community.
It implies the existence of a superior ethics that is able to integrate the functionality of the different ideologies in accordance with their added value to the different interests they cover and the available technologies.
Pluralism implies the preexistence of a superior National Identity that represents the ethics of the culture. It implies the prevalence of “fair-play” in the relations of a community.
It is the next step in the evolution of a society that has achieved a paternalistic role. It is based on the acceptance of an implicit superior ethics that is naturally respected.
Pluralism is the key for multi-segmented evolution that allows growing in fields that are apparently incompatible at an operational level. It is put into action by the individual initiatives and is sustained by the capacity to distribute according to the social needs.
Ideologies and Energy Consumption
The acceptance of superior ideologies demands a superior level of energy. That is why low-power Nations have difficulties in accessing high power demanding ideologies.
That is why the power of a Nation defines the limit of the dominant ideologies. When the power is low they need to enter into absolute ideologies which demand no energy in order to be exerted.
Ideologies are sets of beliefs that use a specific technology to satisfy their interests, which in turn feed back into such beliefs.
Ideologies are a homeostatic element which ensures that the activity carried out by a social group will not deviate from its real purpose. In other words, ideology is what supports a culture’s archetype.
Ideologies are based on specific technologies and, (paradoxically) evolve when technologies change. Thus, the driver of change in ideologies is the change of technologies. Every qualitative change of a technology results in a modifications of an ideology.
If we look at the birth of ideologies such as Feudalism or Marxism, we will irrefutably confirm that they are the consequence of the leading technologies of the times.
Every observable situation is supported by an underlying ideology. Ideology is the homeostatic element of culture because it balances the ethics ruling the context.
There are absolute and relative ideologies. A social group achieves stability when its democratic spirit is so advanced that many different ideologies can co-exist.
If this happens, we are in the presence of “soft ideologies”, which adapt to others without losing their identity.
Absolute ideologies normally perceive relative ideologies as absolute and opposed.
As it establishes standards of acceptable behavior for its specific social environment, ideology is in itself a structure which integrates and shields its advocates.
Unicist conceptual description of Absolute Ideologies
- Individual needs are more important than collective ones.
- Seeks social development through individual self-improvement.
- Prioritizes self-determination and free will as a driver of development.
- Assumes freedom is the right to “do” rather than to “be” or “exist”.
- Prioritizes technology over Man.
- Prioritizes the needs of the average man over those of individuals or sectors.
- Seeks social improvement through the “masses” rather than through the individual.
- Collective well-being is the main driver for development. Thinks that freedom is a part of collective well-being
- Prioritizes the individual over technology.
- Gives priority to what “should be” over what an individual, sector or social group needs.
- Seeks social improvement through the compliance with moral values.
- Prioritizes rational initiative as a driver of development.
- Believes that freedom is related with transcendence.
- Beliefs are more important than technology or reality.
- Prioritizes collective needs over individual needs.
- Seeks social betterment through the elites representing the community.
- The collective unconscious manifested in the State, which represents it, is the driver of change.
- Believes that freedom is related to needs fulfillment.
- Prioritizes social interests over individual ones and technology.
- Prioritizes the concerns of his own group over individual and collective ones.
- Seeks social improvement by promoting membership and participation in interest groups.
- Prioritizes the concerns of groups as a driver of change.
- Believes that the fulfillment of interests is a condition of freedom.
- Prioritizes interests over technology and Man.
- Prioritizes institutional needs over individual, social or its own sector’s needs.
- Seeks to further social improvement through institutions.
- Prioritizes institutional development as a driver of change.
- Believes that freedom is only possible within an institutional framework.
- Prioritizes institutions over Man and technology.
- Gives priority to the group or to collective needs.
- Seeks social improvement starting from niches.
- Prioritizes development of niches as a driver of change.
- Understands that freedom is gained through work.
- Prioritizes individual effort over the individual himself and over technology.
- Prioritizes individual ethics over collective ethics
- Seeks social improvement through Man’s betterment.
- Prioritizes the development of education as a driver of change.
- Believes that freedom is gained through responsible behavior.
- Gives priority to technology rather than Man.
Absolute Ideologies are Fallacious Myths
Absolute ideologies are needed when a society is not able to adapt to the environment. When cultures lack power they build the necessary absolute ideologies to sustain their identity.
Fallacious myths are social constructions to avoid the disgregation of a group or community, hindering the perception of significant dysfunctional behaviors.
Fallacious myths are necessarily built to cover:
- Implicit weaknesses that cannot be accepted.
- Weaknesses that cannot be solved nor faced.
They transform social chronic dysfunctions into acceptable characteristics.
Fallacious myths are necessary to build cohesion
Humans integrate based on their weaknesses and collide based on their strengths. This is self-evident, although it is also a taboo.
But in extreme cases people cannot explicitly accept that they join based on their weaknesses.
Fallacious myths are built to join people without needing to face taboos. Their purpose is to integrate people in spite of existing unbearable weaknesses.
Groups would disgregate if the fallacious myths had not have been built.
That is why they are extremely functional in any culture.