A POST-IDEOLOGICAL AGE?

Endism: An end to ideology? Following the consensus of political thought in the 1950s and 60s, particularly the consensus on ‘managed capitalism’, some were led to believe that ideology was dead. The belief in the good of ‘managed capitalism’ is however in itself an ideology. The 1960s also saw the rise of modern ideologies (feminism, ecologism, etc). The ‘end of ideology’ argument also ignores ideological developments outside the West.

Endism: An end to history? Fukuyama (1989) believed that after the fall of communism in Europe, the triumph of western liberalism indicated an ‘end of the history of ideas’. As soon as Fukuyama proclaimed his theory, new ideological forces rose to the surface. This theory also depends upon the opportunity for all members of society to ultimately benefit from industrial capitalism, rather than there be an imbalance of distribution (which we know to be the case).

Endism: Beyond left and right? Postmodernist thinkers believe that the traditional political spectrum of left and right politics is no longer relevant. The left/right divide centred debate in the twentieth century around the state’s control of the market. New ideologies have emerged and old ones have become fragmented; ideology still underpins politics, but it is less focused around the traditional divide.

Endism: The triumph of reason? The idea of replacing ideology with rationalism can be traced back to Marx’s distinction between ideology and science. In the global age, there is a widespread acceptance of the western model of rationality. Science is not however the antithesis to ideology, and is itself based upon certain ‘ideological’ principles. Multiculturalists and religious fundamentalists also sometimes interpret rationalism as a form of western cultural imperialism.

All ‘endism’ theories are constructed within an ideological framework. Each heralds the demise of ideology by highlighting the triumph of a particular ideology. Why is ideology so resilient? Ideology without end