Ideology: A Very Short Introduction

by Michael Freeden

Overview

Ideology is one of the most controversial terms in the political vocabulary, exciting both revulsion and inspiration. This book examines the reasons for those views, and explains why ideologies deserve respect as a major form of political thinking. It investigates the centrality of ideology both as a political phenomenon and as an organizing framework of political thought and action. It explores the changing understandings of ideology as a concept, and the arguments of the main ideologies. By employing the latest insights from a range of disciplines, the reader is introduced to the vitality and force of a crucial resource at the disposal of societies, through which sense and purpose is assigned to the political world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192802811
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/18/2003
Series:	Very Short Introductions
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	221,969
Product dimensions:	7.22(w) x 4.42(h) x 0.41(d)
Lexile:	1340L (what's this?)

About the Author

Michael Freeden is Professor of Politics at Oxford University and Director of its Centre for Political Ideologies, and is Professorial Fellow at Mansfield College, Oxford.

Table of Contents

	List of illustrations	ix
1	Should ideologies be ill-reputed?	1
2	Overcoming illusions: how ideologies came to stay	12
3	Ideology at the crossroads of theory	31
4	The struggle over political language	45
5	Thinking about politics: the new boys on the block	67
6	The clash of the Titans: the macro-ideologies	78
7	Segments and modules: the micro-ideologies	94
8	Discursive realities and surrealities	103
9	Stimuli and responses: seeing and feeling ideology	114
10	Conclusion: why politics can't do without ideology	122
	References and further reading	129
	Index	135