This is a great question! Ideologies are quite complex and explored by literary theorists, philosophers, and students of sociology. One of my favorite definitions is by Terry Eagleton, a very prominent British literary theorist. He defines it in his book Ideology: An Introduction as:
“A dominant power may legitimate itself by promoting beliefs and values congenial to it; naturalizing and universalizing such beliefs so as to render them self-evident and apparently inevitable; denigrating ideas which might challenge it; excluding rival forms of thought, perhaps by some unspoken but systematic logic; and obscuring social reality in ways convenient to itself. Such ‘mystification,’ as it is commonly known frequently takes the form of masking or suppressing social conflicts, from which arises the conception of ideology as an imaginary resolution to real contradictions.”(p. 5)
The dominant power is often not a single person but rather a group capable of influencing others through various means such as propaganda, money, social influence, etc. Some examples of some dominant powers might be seen as the “developed” Western thought, patriarchy, political parties, and even economic systems like capitalism or socialism. This power contains various belief systems oriented around certain values. Because those values will likely contradict those of the submissive groups, the dominating powers seek to undermine or dismiss them to the point where it seems like there simply isn’t an alternative. It ignores the value contained within the voices of the other submissive groups and attempts to use logic in order to both maintain the dominance of its own beliefs and suppress the beliefs of others. The power is then motivated to maintain the ideology in order to preserve its identity as a dominant power.
The key insight into ideologies, though, are that they are often so pervasive in the culture and the social construction of identity that we often can’t see them anymore. They are taken as the simple truth. That is what Eagleton means when he speaks of the “mystification” process. We don’t even realize that there are other alternatives or possibilities.
Take something as common as brushing your teeth for instance. There is an ideology that the cleanliness of your mouth is signified by the minty-fresh aspect of the toothpaste. We have then come to associate cleanliness with the very “mint” flavor and sensation released by the toothpaste. Yet, do your teeth really need to feel that minty sensation in order to be clean? No! Of course not! It is simply to stimulate a response, so that whenever you don’t have that feeling, you feel your mouth isn’t clean and feel an impulse to brush your teeth. (And to continue buying the brand that provides that feeling). So who is the dominant power here? Probably the brands of toothpaste that promote the idea that mint signifies cleanliness. Who are the submissive powers? Those who think you can clean your teeth with something like baking soda or charcoal. (Yeah, see how your mind was just like "what?!" No way!)
One of the larger concepts of ideology is often applied to patriarchy throughout history. For example, in the British Renaissance or even in the American witch hunts, there was a great movement of fear of crones (elderly women) that even the women believed. They often considered solitary women who were elderly to be witches. By demonizing feminine sexuality and normalizing a fear of women’s bodies, the patriarchal order was able to keep women in a perpetually destabilized identity. This is done by enforcing a belief that women must be in constant relation to some man, whether it is her husband, her brother or her father. Without one of the three, she is vilified as something unnatural. By keeping the woman continuously in fear of her own body and the body of other women, she is marginalized and isolated psychologically and socially to prevent the women from actualizing any agency. This even stretches far back into mythology and folklore (think the Baba Yaga of the Slavic folklore).
Now, is ideology necessary? I would say that they aren’t necessary but they are unavoidable. Or, if you want to get really technical, ideologies are necessary to the dominant power in order to maintain belief in its own power and perpetuate that group as a dominant power throughout the ages. But are they necessary to the individual? Various ideologies contribute to the identity of the self but it isn’t necessary (at least in my opinion). I think the more important thing is to be able to realize where and what the ideologies are in the various power structures and how they are shaping your decisions and your own thoughts. Ideologies are everywhere, in every culture. So if you can learn to see where those mystifications are, those places in culture where we just assume what “is” as truth, then you can make more informed decisions on how you want to live your own life. Locating power and motivation is also important. If you can start seeing where the power lies and how they are motivated to maintain their ideology you will gain a certain kind of power in being able to actually navigate your own free-will.
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