Ideologies - What they are, How they work, Why we need them

Introduction. James Burnham was a professor who became a committed communist in the 1930s, then did a complete 180° flip, and became a leading conservative figure in the 1940s. His understanding of ideologies is second to none. Insights from Burnham on how ideologies work👇

The why of ideologies. Burnham calls ideologies the "indispensable verbal cement" that hold societies together. The warring instinct in humans is atleast as prominent as our sociable instinct. For a large group to coexist, it needs a set of shared fundamental values.

Burnham writes: "The primary function of ideologies ­ whether moral or religious or metaphysical or social ­ is to express human interests, needs, desires, hopes, fears, not to cover the facts. " Hence ideologies are very different from scientific theories.

Science vs Ideologies: You can settle a scientific theory one way or the other by "experiment and observation." An ideological debate can never be settled in this manner. This is because an ideology represents not reality, but the social interests of a certain class.

The How. Ideologies have a two fold purpose: push for the interests of one group, while maintaining a pretext of universal validity. An ideology must "aid in creating a pattern of thought and feeling favorable" to the ruling class, but also pretend to speak for all "humanity."

An ideology becomes totally impotent the moment its real function is totally known. An ideology continues to work well when its actual function is obfuscated by grandstanding universalist pretensions. Deception is central to the optimum functioning of an ideology.

Burnham writes: Societies work "not merely by force and the threat of force, and by established patterns of institutional behavior, but also by accepted ways of feeling and thinking and talking and looking at the world" - that is, by ideologies.

Ideologies often use "symbols that warm the heart." Take the liberal ideology and a few of its main pillars: “Democracy,” “equality,” “popular government,” and so on. These terms emit an "emotive glow" and appear to contain their own justification.

An ideology is to society what "rationalization" is to individuals. For an individual to stay psychologically coherent, he needs to reconcile contradictory beliefs with rationalizing stories. An ideology is the rationalizing story that reconciles different interests in society.

Bottom line. An ideology is a "self-contained set of ideas" that can't be disproved via debate. An ideology is a lawyer that must work at two levels - above the table, he pushes for the well-being of everyone seated. Below the level, he ruthlessly pushes his client's agenda.