Culture and Ideology 232 Najd

Culture and Ideology An ideology is a collection of ideas.

Culture and Ideology An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things.

Culture and Ideology Ideology can also be seen as a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of this society.

Culture and Ideology For example, The ideology of economic liberalization could be seen to particularly promote the interests of the business classes [or rich economies]. (Discussion/Examples)

Culture and Ideology National Level: Who Benefits????

Culture and Ideology International Level: Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in organizing the economy on individualist lines, meaning that the greatest possible number of economic decisions are made by individuals and not by collective institutions or organizations.

Culture and Ideology Economic liberalism also supports free trade and open markets. Free trade policies generally promote the following features: Trade of goods without taxes (including tariffs) or other trade barriers (e.g., quotas on imports or subsidies for producers),trade in services without taxes or other trade barriers.

Culture and Ideology Regional Trade Agreements Regional Trade Agreements link individual countries or regions. But what happens with a trade agreement between a rich economy and a poor one?

Culture and Ideology Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), often remove the poor country’s right to use tariffs and quotas to protect its own industries and farms from cheap imports.

Culture and Ideology Together, the United States and European Union spend US$1 billion a day subsidizing their farmers. When these farmers produce too much, the extra produce is sold to developing countries at vastly reduced prices. This then pushes down the price of local produce, so poor farmers can’t compete.

Culture and Ideology So, the new availability of foreign foods in a market—often at cheaper prices—can displace local farmers who have traditionally earned a living by working their small plots of family-owned land and selling their goods locally.

Culture and Ideology Peru’s 28,000 cotton farmers now face ruin because of a proposed FTA with the US.

Culture and Ideology Should it come into force, Peru’s government will have to remove taxes on imports – and massively subsidized American cotton will flood their market.

Culture and Ideology Mozambique’s sugar industry, for instance, has been crippled in this way. Thousands of tons of cheap EU beet sugar were being dumped in developing countries, denying small farmers a fair chance. whats-wrong-with-world- trade/

Culture and Ideology Ideology in Everyday Life Every society has an ideology that forms the basis of the public opinion or common sense, a basis that usually remains invisible to most people within the society. This ideology appears as `neutral', while all others that differ from the norm are often seen as radical, no matter what the actual circumstances may be. (Discussion/Examples)

Culture and Ideology Influencing Ideology Influencing Organizations that strive for power influence the ideology of a society to provide a favorable environment for them.

Culture and Ideology Political organizations (governments included) and other groups (e.g. lobbyists) try to influence people by broadcasting their opinions, which is the reason why so often many people in a society seem to think alike.

Culture and Ideology When most people in a society think alike about certain matters, or even forget that there are alternatives to the current state of affairs, we arrive at the concept of hegemony.

Culture and Ideology The ideologies of the dominant class of a society are proposed to all members of that society in order to make the ruling class‘ interests appear to be the interests of all, and thereby achieve hegemony.

Culture and Ideology IDEOLOGICAL HEGEMONY arises in a situation where a particular ideology is pervasively reflected throughout a society in all principal social institutions and permeates cultural ideas and social relationships. Ideological hegemony is a system of thought control. (Discussion and Examples)

Culture and Ideology Ideological hegemony operates through many mechanisms including the media, education system, newspeak and others with the primary function of maintaining support for the dominant socio- economic system in the United States. deological_hegemony.htm

Adapted from: and_culture_ideology_in_everyday_life_hege mony_cultural_anthropology&b=98&c=30 and_culture_ideology_in_everyday_life_hege mony_cultural_anthropology&b=98&c=30