freeden ideologies

8/4/2019 Freeden Ideologies

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Chapter

The clashofthe Tltams:

the nracno-ideologies

we lcave for a while the ldious ways ofdnabsing ideologics and

do\c to suwey the forms thar Political ideologies have adoptcd,

Throughout much ofthc 2oth century the prevailing idcologies

havc been o!€rarching, inclusive netllorks ofided that havc

ofitrcd solutions, delibdaiely or by default, to a.ll he imlortdt

political issues confronting a socieb. Those m&ro ideoiogics have

soughi social and political acclain md dominance on both Dationaldnd inrdnational l€r'els. in recogniing their centality wc are

defefing to the po$€r of iradition and convention d cldsiliers

of idcologies, not forglting that other classifications could be

retrospectivebpossible.Libenlism, consendtish,socialism,

facism, communisn, dd other major families, have been virrualli

eified 6 loliti@l actos in their osn risht. Indeed, nuch ofthe

pst century @! be viewcd s a generally vitriolic, dnd frequcntly

bl@dn battleground among drem. Far liom being narginal

e f ip l - .nomar : . deo,g i^ l 'a .F t rcoed e nol i , t "scn"n. "

Most noderD ideolosies havc adopted an insiitutional sd.b, in rhc

fom of a political movement or pa$y. This js hardb surprising if $t

recall thal ideologi€ ar€ .ompctitions 01€. Providins plars for

public policy, Yet it s!!ld still be a mistake to 6sume that

@nservatism or libe, alisd &c absohtely identi@l to what

Conservative or Liberal partics stand fol Ideolosres are rarely



formllated by political parties.The tunction of pdrties n .elation to

ideologies s io present hen nr imm€diateiy consumable on aDd

to disseminate }enr {ith optimal effrciency.Partiesoperateat the

mds production ndof the ons deologicalroductionine.

ldeologies ./Ae among .oups ithin a pa.tyor outside f t.Thosegoups rnay @nsistof nrtellectualsor slilled rhetoricians,

who thenselves&e frequeDtbarticulatins nx,.e ropular or

inchoate bcliels or coneseiy, wate.nrg do\w comple{

phiiosophicaLosirions.

It is comnon to describe deologis N ransins 6 om the left to the

righl in a contjnuun of beliefs tom communism, h.olgh$cia]isn, iiberalism, rd consenatism,o fascism. ecently,

dttenpts nare bccn madc o challenge his ordering. Greenpolitical

thjnkeN hdvc amouslydescribed henNehes6 Dejthef ell nof

right. but in front; some ersions of fdcisnr hale also. blt niore

dubioudr:,claitued o bc ncither leit Dornshti and the 1990s

obsessionith thi.d wa)s' lE proffereda srrrthesisof a dialecric

vie* ofideological olirics- The advantaseofthese cldsifications is

that an attraclive cld.itr dcscends n the lnrketplace ofpolirical

ideas a veir useful llusion $den mlste ngsuppo|t. The left

risht @ntinuum, howcvc! is itself largely deological. t seNes he

pu,TJosefbestowinSa tuod.rate or, r€spectively, dical or e\rn

dangerousaura on m idcology; t suggestshat to mo!€ among

ideol{rsiesdnbe agradullrocessl

dd it indicaieshat deologics

are nutually dclusive ard hcnceoller cleaFclt alternative

N{rneofthese itulli.ations ls correct, but sr needboth micro- drd

macro'anal$is in oder lo rcncdy them. The rnido aralysis is

providedby th€ tuorphologicalapproach o ideologies hat oltcN a

$ ay of dsemblir1g hed and cxlloriDg their inter- and inl.arelatioDships. he mactu da\sis is lro\ided by looking at

ideolosiesas radirins over timc dd slace. whosc maglincd

dpects thenselvesbecomepart of political rcali[l Lhc t$ o

approaches recomplementary: hcy oller altcrnarirc acccsso

t

79



studling ihe same hing. BeginniDg yith lhe .onceptualstructurc,$e mayapply the notions of dccontcstation, amjb resembleces,core, adjacent,andpedpheralconcepts,dd pemeable boundtuiesto someofthe main ideologicalgroupings.Most modern idcoloSiesa.e complex.They cannot bc sunmarized in

orereimpliliedseneralizations$rc,hd: Iibcralism is aboul libelq'i conserlatisn is

abolt presening the staxNqtrojed so on. Theyall exhibit a cluster

ol core coDcepts, one of $hi.h can be tudimized without some

damage o the othes, and conscqucntly o the ideological rofile $

awhole.As noted abovc, he prcpodiona.lirypnrciple reaches s

that, ifone conceptcxpands o fill up all availablespace,r sill end

by cNshing rhe othcrs or subsuning them rvithin iis donain.

Liberalism

Liberalism consistsofsd€ral core@ncer)ts, ll ofwhich are

indislcnsable to irs curent manifestatioDs. The $plosition that

humd beings de 'zftozali an insistence on ltlary ofthought and,

within some limits, of actionj a beliefin blmd and social p/rArc$;thc dsuhption that the izlrotdzal is the ldme social unit and a

udquc .ioice mal,er; the postulation ofsood.tltl!/ and human

benc\olen.e a normali an appeal to the gadral izr.fcaf rdther than

to particular loyaities; and rcsnatiotu abol1t?otuer t[Iess it is

constrained and made ecountable all thse arc rhe mrnimum

libcral kit. supeimposed on that kit is a cncial dispositbn: a

criticdl .llestionin! of moti\es and actiors thai introdu.es a

readines to redrink onet owr coneptual arrangements and

pr&ti.es, dd to tolerate tbose ol otheN.

As a iradition, liberalismenteftains he idea ofthe open-erded

dcvelopment ofhuman beinss tos€rds incredingly cn ized stlts

ofexistence, epitomized in Jobn Stuan Mill's lvritin8s. Thatdevelormert revolvs aroud the liberq' rhat people can practise

unfettered, through rot being dominated agairst thei. will, abetted

bJ n In" re tu , , ,Fp@r, , i r ion rd rormal i /J r io1wfhu i " , ' ight ! .

But throushout the 20th century the idea of a fai deal to people

3 l



IIII

I:

hd grom $ithin the hmily of libdalisns, consistingnot onlr of

equal legal protecrion and treatmcnt, blt the equalizing of

e@Donic and gender oplortunitics drd .especr for htrltiple and

dileNe cultues and faiths $ithin and acfo$ Dations.Human

well-being, or wcliirr., have .ome to be p.incipal insredieDtsofthe package ol bcnciiis that a hmranist polirica.l system pledges to

Ljberalism'sachicvcmcntshavebeenquierlymomcnrous. |s vision

oftlee leoplcs bo.e fruit in the ehanciration ol colonies rom

imperjal rule. It contribtrt€ddjrccdy to tle liberation ofpoliiically

marginalized grorps frotu ryranny and discrimiDation: dre verr factthat dcitatcd politicians n libenl democracies rand doxn tiom

!o$cr rathcr than caliing in rhe tanks attests to the rssimilation of

its lorns oi political tucountabilib' and resloDsibilit! tr has

lfonoted social cforh on a gred scale, limding with the

$- l la -sar - \ I r . * r rp l " r . - " ru , lo r o ld ag. ! "n . . .n . .

uncnplotmcnt and hedlth insurdnce ofthe Lib.ral govemments in

thc UKbcrwccn 1906 and r91a, nsd.ed by thc lrogramme ofrheDc$ lileralisn ln international relationsdre 1.1pointsofAmei@

Prcsident $'oodrow l4rilson for the post-first World War

serilcmcntcn sageda new $ orld order rhar initially failed to

materializc but that $as echoed in tbe establishing ofthe Unjted

Nations and the Universal Declaration of Humd Rights a

gcncration later. and js now slo$ ly sp.eading to states fomerl)'

nndd toialitarian domination. Every constitution with a bill of

rights and a stict demarcation ofgovernmental po*eN thar is

honourcd by the authoities and the peopLea.llkc, e\try s'stem

thal dcfcrs o the rule ofla\ js a triumph ofthc liberal tradition,

Prcsidcnt Roosevelt's 930sNew Dealw6 onc exampleof liberals

aclnorvlcdging the need for governments to intcnene in order to

secure lildty and fairness for theircitjzeDs. Another strand ofrheIiberal tradition, to the contraa:, hG fonnd mccour ir the

adlanccmcnt offree mdkers dd e@lomic entrepreneuNhip

shiclded 1iotu the suslelt€d bureauaatic ilclliciency oftle

the enginesof hlmaD s€lfare.



These resome lthe moreDotableilestonesofthe ibemlrradition that hale changed he $orld more than the most dmatrcoflolitical revolutions,ndhave dred 1tu onsel The iberalt.adition hd also altered notablv n a mmb€r ofiNtances: the$€atDe$

oftheWennarRelublic n 192osGermanyfailedopr€lrnr the rise of Hitlef to powd: dr. mscdnrist bises 01 iberalsharr beenslow o extend heir objccrjvc ofemanciparioDo wonrnjandelen iberalisDtmuch\altrcd olerance as ound r difiicuittograpplewith nethods ol contemlorary tcrror without desccndingtotbe monl levelofitsencrnics, d gcneratesreTlexiryamongliberah she, conffoDledwith non libcral cultures n, u,er own

societies.r anygivenpoint i is mportant o realize. ontraGnnrsci, ni thereeristmorcnon hcgemonichan hegenonic

Socialism

Socialism s anothd of the najor jdeologicalfanrilies.and it $.uld

be premaiuf. to aDouncc its demisequit€ ]rt. Its imlaci on the

2oihcenturyddon inte.secring deologiol famjliesh6 been

considerablc. Its corc conceptual .orfiguDtion combrncs the

following. First, it sccs the A.dzp as the bdsic social uDit, $hether

sociery a a $holc or a snu]le. gbtrp such N a communc or d

syndiate. lbr socjalists, hnnan beings are constituted by their

relationships with thcir hunan an4 at one rcnrove, their non

luman eDvironments. cl6s, howeyc! js an alienatedgroup,

isolated liom rhc marcrial and $cial soods requir€d for tuU human

develolmcnt drd cxprc$ion. lt therefore h6 Degatlve

coDnotailons, althotrgh in scvcral non Manist socialisms class'has

become a .r1r?d4l sttucture that enfem a welcome idcnriqr on its

menbeis. S.cond, jl hs a pdsjon for cqu rirl, for the rcmoval of

hierarchical distinctions, md for the redinribution of goods on thebasisof human nccd. :l hid, it sinslesout oo?* (also crmed labou.,

c.eatirity, pioducrivit),, or actnif) ds the tundarnental constitftire

. . r . , . 1 ; l J , h " b r i . . . r . n r a . r , . d

ii hich social organization must be strtrctu.ed. Fou|th, ir chcrishes



aD dealofhtrnan,"efire or loudshing asedn theshort un o!the elinination ofpol€rry and n the loDger ur on ihe freeparticllation ofall in the nate.ial drd inrellccrudl nheitance ofhumaniq Fifth, it lbsteB a belief in tle prornischeldout by thehistai.ul prous rn lthe ability of hlrnan bcings o dired thatproccsso beneficiale!ds- socialism s imporrandy tururc-o entedand hcavif citical ofthe p6t andthe presert. Sometwesusocialist discours€he marchofhisto4' is ustolpable and thefuturc dults, erasinsall that camebefore(that is th€ cse sidr oDe01socialish's mighrr- €riaDls, Manisnt; ai other times r! rs

Sradftl, erratiq aDd equifes he helpjng hand ofpeople of

goodwill.

The socialist railitioD took oll i! the latc 19th ceni!.}, pronpting

Eurcpean ationsn particllar o takehcedofthedemddsoftherisins worknrs cl6s. lndmuch 6 ii is.justified ro rcfer io anideolosical anrily in the plural, jt is cerrainb,ustified ro ralk abotrr$cialisms rather than socialism.Severalofits veEiors rver€

me$ianic aDdutopian. Socialistanarchistsdreant oftheabolition ofpolitical poweraDda spontaneous ocial order b6cd

oDaltNisn and niutual interdependerce.SomeManisr-irspircdbelievers$ent o1l o found comnunes like the early kibbltzim orcra@ntury ago. D whidr the family,prilate propeq'. ard the di\isjonoflabourwereabolishedn order o create sociallymhmatc

societrno longerfractured through bafiers ofaDykind. Frcnch and

Bilish lroto{ocialists Nch s CharlcsFour-ierand Robeft O$cndsigned communitics scd o! radical rincipls ofequality.

SFdicalisrs sished to replacc he state wjth what they saw d rhenahrrallolirical an.l economicuit: rhe rvorkrlace. olLo$in8 onFon id"n l i i j j gsork | r \sen. o bF,, .B'unr . . . .

Otler socialist eNions acceprcd hc institurions of liberal

democracy, ut dcclarcd rhcir intcntion to use he state orestructuresocietl gradually,yct inexorably.Anong those vere

membem fthclhbie Socieb,n Britain.ledby Sidney d

Beabice Wcbb dd George sernardshaw, $ho, lunching abo'e



l , ' r ' , , e - . d" " E l , rd - t o - p d , , e r h o o . o t d i . . r r h , 1 8

socialist deolosr- hrough cheapand polulistlublications. Ther

.equisitioled the niaDtle of scierce hrough the use of statisiicsand

the bfe.king doe! ofhnmaD beings nto mcsuable utesones ot

neediness: ovefil. illness,or erfbrced idleness.TheGemansocialistEduard Bernsteinwas the intcllectudl €aderoftien

contiDental equivalenls, social demooats healily @nnnitted to

in elolutionary path of pdticipatott' dcnbcraq and nrcreased

ildilidual freedon 6 well d eqraliq,.

The innediaie political consequence of the socialist t.aditjon $'d

theupsurge of socialist and irr Britain, Labour) panies {ith avigorous cl6s agcnda. As a conscqtrcnce, ther prefer.ed to

conc.Dtaie on augmcnling thc curcnt porverof exploitedgfoups

i . h - r 1 , r ,i . f . r i n g r h , ' : i r l ) . i , J i r - p t r , - J ! p F - . j o n

ofprelailiDg sociai addgdncnts. Ihe more e]ledile Frxiciparionof $ofkcis jn social and political ljlc, and resFct fo. their rights,

b.canc prjncipal socialistends, romot€dbyt.adelnions aswcll s

thco.ists. Socialisn sen€d a a rallying crv ofinrmense potencl: s

it lbstered grand trdsformative erpectations aDd conrlelled n,ling

grotrps to b. on the defensite loliti.alh: Nationalization ofthe

1 . , , . o - r c J ' . i o - . d . r ,b L o , . 1 d , r l J r r - b F . 1 n - r r . r . L i r .

political objective that rvds panir.llrr realized nr the prograDmes of

node.ate socialist parties rvhen th.I came to power iD the mid-

2oth celruy. NIotu common\', though, socialists nieryed wirh

progressilc liberal ideologi€s in dcvelopnrs aDd consolidaiing thc

Practices ofthe $elfare state. Herc is an apposite e\amplc of lhc

inrricate .elationship benveenparry and ideologt Though socjalisr

parties .laimed to have bught th. welfare state iDto the $orld,

it was cleady a liberal constroct,balancnrspublic and priyatc

reslonsibiliF for individual well beins and blendnrg con$&d

.hoice $ith state regulatjon. Socialist r)al'iies prolided the nusclcfor * hat rvas oisinally a libe.al ideolosical scheDre, and nost ofthe

ideolosisrs ofthe s€lfare state $€re htbrid social-lilroals. As wc

.h" l l . .e" , ln$." l l

r \e . " . ,

h , . T " r ' , , - i F . d r " ' ' L r t ' " . . o . i . l i s n ' o r . o a t r . , ' i 5 n .



Consefvatism

'l hethid major wsrern ideologicatamity is coNcratism. Despireits fte$ent djsclaimes that ir isnt an iileoto$/, it too is aparricular

vieF of the political $ortd and insitabty containsasercs orconcepBst.uctured i! aspecific etarionship.The re6on whyconsenativesmi$ead the narrueof thcif beliefsystem,dd whyadveNtui€sofconseraatismhaveseen t 6 oppofiunistic, tiesin apeculiarcorceptuaipronterhar h6 disglised its intemalcoDsislcncy.How wd it, 6ked ttre critics,that conseNatives ouldbe aternalist and iDtcrvenrionkt jn rhe 19rhcentu.f, ssumins the

vocationofprotectors andSovemorsofsociatorder,whered iDthelaie 2oth century hey atigned hernsetvs lvirh advootesof thefi eemarkct and minimum stare ntewention? Onehisroricaly orienredaDswcrmight bethat the conserari\€ tradition netamorphoseilinto someihingquirc djffercntj thar it hadno fl\cd substantiveposition,and merell .eflected he policiesof the insritutionsrhatated in its name,Ac.o.dingb! jn Bdtain the Consemrive partt,

movcdfi om a complaenr ro a pro&tive role in the tuceofnrdustrial trifedd thespiralingcosts fweifare.On thecontineri, the Christian Dcmocratsemergcdroh religioustyldtisa! roots,predomiDantiyCathotic.Theythctr founil ir heawgorrg d denominationallotitic recededn importance,so rhatconsenativrshad to realignon rhe basisofnationalisr aseDda!.That wd eslecially problcmdtic

since he cortinenta.inariondtkrtradition had to a considerabieenent been akenover bJ theenrde right leaviDs nortual,

cohs€rarivessith little space or

Bui there is dnorhersolurionro rhe osteDsibtelusivene$ofconserative ideolos/_ ts citic mal havebeen ookingnt the

Mona place dr irs ore conceptsed therefore ailed to conr u!lrith adnrabieholdinE panem. t.heyhavebeensear.nhg lbr ihe@nsemtil€ counterparts o iiberat andsociatistded @ncerniDghnhaD nature,disrributi!€jusrice, aDd he relationshipbeh\eeDstaieand ndividual, and theyha\€ d.aM a blank. In conserarive

d



discou$ethose ded do nor disPlayastaue coDtinuitv.nd onDot

thereforebe candidateso. core @ncepts.Yet there @,"su.i

@ndidates.Onecommon hread running through all conses'.tive

arsunent is an diery abdutchangeaDd he urge to distinguish

betweer unnaturaland @rzrdJ .ioaAc. The latter is modelcd oncontinuousorgdic grosth, raiher than on disjointed,planncd

mechdicai leapsand bounds.Only changes groilh is legitinate.

safe,dd steadl Another common hr€ad is the conviction hat the

socialorder b founded on laws hat are nsulated fiom hund

co;trolj it is therefore mpervious o humd $'i11, will that .d onlv

tamler with it harmlirllt ovd time, andd dplmatory Paradigms

oforderhave ltered, itrerenr h a-human rigna oJa?ffianentrooralorda havebeen Noked: God. nature,histor]', biologv,and

e@nomicsare someof the more commonancho$ to which

Many consemtisms employreligion s amainstayofthe moral and

politi.al beliefs hel espouse, d use he sanction of relisronto

imposepoliti@l ordci Ind€ed, he rclationship bet\tten the major

religionsdd @nsen'atisms problematic nsmuch as hose rvho

hold to their beliefsmost strongly,particuldly amongsome

Christids, Mlslidq and Jews,wish to alrplya freeze i-ame n

which thc statewould beconerhelolitr@l instnment of fdith

Nature,d alreadyobseNed,s a favounte deologicalatifice for

coDdoningwhat alreadyexists,or for cloaliingrhe clumsv

transpdcncy ofsocial dangeinents. llist ry advs in the form of

tadition - aptealedto 6 the cumulativewisdom ofthe pastwhich

the lresent is fortunate to inherit. Biolog-v d cconomis are rwo

minirpsrario". l q.ian.P, l-or |!hior' Jons.rviliv"' e1r"8' in

their seNice D order to acquire he statusof a secuLarruth. A1l

thesedevicesdeflectditicisd a$'ay tom human beings,esPeciallv

rulirs groups.Theycan simPlt disoM responsibiliry or thedeficiencicsof society,d the lattcr are alparently ofdained bt a

meta-Political i amcso*.

CoDseNarisms apowerful lolitical tradition becauset apPealso



hlmd ineria. lt alsocondons rhc good ortunesof thoscatreadyin positions f political, coDomic,d socia.torvcrs.hoarenndeBtandablyreluctantto lart with ttreir gaiDs,whetherearned,inheited, or acquiredby force.Fcar s thus aspur m conscNaiNm.

ConseNativeheo.izinghr-salsonot unduly t oublco16 $pponersIt ha not req red rhegreat nrellc.tuat aDd maginativecfo.t rhatall prosressivcand reformins ideolosiesdcmaDd: o conjureup aworld hetter thd the existnrgonc. ILs echniqueha been aBelXrea'cti!€,and thdt in t]ro ways.FiBt, dtthough rs ideologl isnornaliy dorman| ir awdkens$,hcn conftontedby the principlesard policies f opposingdeologics.onfrontationsbnitr nto

conseratisn, $ienercr it is cha.Uensedll dprcjcct t rcgardsboth d humanlyconhivedaDdbreakingwjth acceptablc,organicchanse.EqMlilr is then makhed by larudt hieE.u,); adcvelopmend nrdividualib,by the sob.ierr of existnrgctrlturalnorms;a rcgnrabry stateby a retrcat iDro civil ssociarions_Revotutionis riminalized,ropianismidicuted.

'lhe second eatue of.onseNative rechrique is ro 4sembteacounter-setol conccptualconfiguratioDs, irtcicd againstwhatevers seen ry consemrives 4 most threateDins o rhesocial orderWleD dtusical libera.ts .omoredroliricat emd.iparion jn the19tl ceDtury@nscryativesccdlledrhe dtrtiesofrhe arisrocracydnd.alled in rhe coDcelt ofinequatiqawhen ercialisrslruNred sooarrelOnnand natjonalizatior

tioh tire trrrn ofthc tgttr centtrryandthroughoutmlch ofthe 2oth, conseNarives auled proleq,riglts to the ceDtrcoftheir ideological oonr.WhenfscisrscmployedvioleDceon the strccts n the 1930s,conseNarivesellbackon |heruleoflawandrlc constirution. hensocHrdemoc.atsad\ocatcd plaDDcd coDomics, harctre.ireddRea8anitc@Dser1'arivespplaudedhe liee choi.e ofcitizens,

delibentch redefined6 consuneE.Note rhar in eachcalerhcseconserlat'vereactionsemplo)€dconccprsand ides sharedBjrhother idcologies this beaB out tne point ofideotosicalpermeabilib), but noi with the ideologi/ heyregardeddf ,re ft,u.as he mostrneDacinso the corecoDs.natne prirciptes. Flelibitib,

f

+j



in arranging thcir adjacentconceptshelpedconsenatives o

protect their corc rolions ol sate change and the need to shield the

socialorder ffon thc lagaries ofthe hun.D Fill. $'lnt seemed o

its Gtisators an opporiunistic ideolo$r was n liict a highly

@nsisteDt o ne. Even thc o s c nsj bl! radical social t.ansrornatroDensased nby lhatch.rircs s'd irtendedto fe-establish he kiDd of

natural orsanic.hangc thal, iD their !ie$i, had been undcmined bv

over-senerous rveliirrc rrcasures and by tnde uDion politics.

$'lile @ns€natism wd cngaged r a psycholosical wcll da

loliti@l struggle $ith thc ideologies ol noderate and llanncd

reform liberulism dnd socialism the latter two $'.re also atlosserheadswith eachothcr'lhet rehfi'e !rcximily lriggcrcd ofi

rhe hostili\, ofnvo gtuupscompetiDgover a sinjlar clicnrclc, brced

d a consequenceto aricaturc he difieferces bet\iren ihcm. T|ue,

N1alnstve$hrs ofsocialism and libertdiaD reNions oi iibdalism

.shared ittle comnrn ground.btrithe nain bodlofrh. rs. r'smilies

! orc awed oD ssuesofdemodacti constiturionalism 3nd 1n.

! fecosnition ofthe plight of thc disadvantagcd.Ncldthcle$,

liberals depictedsocialisms burcancratic and utcalistici

socialists retaliated by danning liberalism tr'ith crdosing an

instNmental es.ism that most liberals had alrcady discardcd.

NoDe of this, hosever, could naich thc morral combat bctrvccn

two newcomersj frscisn dnd commlnism, and the resi ot thc

ideological field in lhe iddlc lhird ofthe 2oth centurir lfa!),ihirg.

the energence of tlese toralilarian ideologies reinlbrced thc

widespreadview ofideoloBl d docbinairc, dognatic, closcd,

and inllicted on an unsilling lopulacc.

The otalitariandeologies

The Italian fascistdictdror, Bcnito M$solini, cmploycd hc norion'totalitadan' favourablr: as ndicaftrg a brcadth &d s$eepofsocial

concernandtolitical miry. trlore comnonly, fotalifazdl/lrln Ns

L n d - A t o o d & r l - , - n r o f . ' r i J . o o C \ | . l l n o r o , l

untnmed Dpenet.ating umanactilirl ande\cd hought.lt



collapsed he spacebet\rce! the public andp.ivate sphercs,iNisting that the statews entitled to regulateall ared ofsociat andiDdividual ife- HannahArendt saw t 6 brcakins doM rhedistinction belveen legalitt and illesaiiql so that ordinary citizens

never knew on w}ich sidc ofthe larr theywere, a aw .tranged ai thewhin of the ruleN. That itselflerpetuated a stdteofteror anddisorientation, hrough which compliance$'s ertractedf.om thebodypolitic. Facism combinedz fier@nnd agscssite tutionatismat thc disposalof the state and rs henchmen,a cult ofthc lzdder(Il Duce),drlr andphysicalolence,^Ddah.sth ofrugetututianthat resnnected he psr gloriesof Romedd promisednational

rebirth. The Germanvaidt, nationalsocialisn, \ru moremethodicalboth in its ideolosl dnd ts pnciical realization.riaddednJ he abovea /tutal u.qrn, to be achievedby the unjncationof the pureAryar race under a thousand-ycarcenno Reich,paalleled bJ the dmoapattrz o/./c@s strbhunan and thestrbsequent6s annihilation f millions. his absrractioniomrcal Jews. o which thc mrth bore no rsemblance. wd midcolosi@lcont vdcc ne.essary o bold together he dispdate andincohercntfeatues of apreposte.ousdoctrine with catatrophicconsequences.rader woship for De. Fiihrcr $,8, if dlthins,morePronouncedhan in ltabr

Conmunisn, on the other hand, 16 a more elusne deoto$aFor along lvhile it playedon its ideational

derivation :on rhc sociaiisrlani\, ard {ioo the lingdistic interchangeabilib berweensocialismand communjsms the idea.lsocieq,heldout by Marxisrs_nstead,it becameapeNefted olibhoot ofthe socialisr tudtjon. (:that usaEeof locialism'16 happily acceptedby anti-sociaiistsn rhc w€st,rhougb not by social-democrarsJrs cltsf dd t'ordlra?taD eatlresemerged n the SovietUnion under I€Din an4 no.e dmmarica|y,

under Stalin,whenvst ntrhbeN ofoppoDenrsweremurdered nthe nameofthe re\olution- After the SecoDd orld Wtu, wirb itssprcad o Edtem Eurolc, communismbecme nore blreaucraticdd .oa@ar"e. Irs discoursestill urilized the ideaof agzza?ldr , thousn no loDgera democraticone. rcpreserted lrcusn the



,rars a.t?loter ofthe people support ofegalirdidsm and

conmual lrojects. connu st rhetodc wd ho$cver shorn ofirs

original grand social vjsioD, \ile rcrainiDg L'ittdl nethotl' of

??7?sslon and a s)€ternatic alruse ofhumd rjghls, libeq,. ard

individulit}l Commmismtmostpowerlitl currcntmanif€station,ln Chjna, rcscscd a ccrbal guidirg role 1br political elites nr

lbsicrin8 a lcsant rcvolrtion and cultural chang!, thoush it is

no$ *lcrimcnling rvith Limitcd flee markcts.

ln the tertuinolosr ofidcological morphology, the meaninss ofthe

concepts Ncd by tLcsc totalitdian ideologics, &d the lroximities

among thc conccprsj wdc .igidly and itrllcxibly nailed dom.Aurhoriry ws only dsociared $irh thc state; the leader rvith sole

knowledge and le8itimdcyi libcr.y a.lwals heant emancipation from

the falsehooG ofthe othcr idcoiogiesi and sode .oncepts. such 6

a..ountdbjlity, righrs, dd roldturce, wdc forcibry remoled lionr

the politi.a.l lexicon. this ws brillidtb pdodied b)' GeoEe O$di

in llis no\el Nineteen EigllttJ lazr: wd is leace; li€edom js

slavery j lgnorance is sirength'.

A-sone ofits characters put it:

Itt r beartinrl hnrs, hedestmclio.ofxlrds . . . Don'i lu see][t

ile wlole aim ofNe\sleak is to narro$ rheranse oflhousll? Ir dE

erd rc shail nate drolsht cinre inrlosible, becNse ther€ sil Ie

no rvords n \'lich to eiTre$ ir.

ldeolos/ bad become. now more than cver, the war of the sords.

Thr.ush it, .itizens had a std.k choicc: ther could eitber find fien

1ru€'political voice orbe silen.ed.

The expansionar_vends of N&ism dd facism, as rvell 6 theifEpukive beliefs and actbns, occaioned a sorld war that, more

than most $trs, was co$ciously seen * an ideological struggle to

r l - -o- " . l 'b F .e-nBr .nJ .J . nr . ' F r rJ Lr |a r l -p , r ' : t le ..d l

laDglage ofgood and evil. This epic confrontation N6 erteDded to



tire@ld $'d ofthe 19tosandr96os,$jth commuDismcplacinsliscisrn 6 the imrla@ble errmy oflvestern lalues.The moderateideologles$ere encolragedto rcject the epirh.r ldeologt forthemscNcs,not becalse hcy sarv deologiess iitusoryon the

Marxist interyretatioD,but beca$e to thc contr!ry rhetpefceilcd them as rey real dd denacnrg. n retrospecr_hedomindt mid 2oti-ceDrury je$ of deology s li,eledbrt}e intimate asociation of idcology $itl totaiitaianjsm. Throngtr5 i .n . r . o \J . l i r r o r . p d a n a r o f ' l e . o r - t i r r ,, - e 8 i h . .

entailedhee.adicatioDl idcologytsel(dd prolided

a'nrnunition for the end of idcolos: school.Br coDtr6t.

clnent anabErsof ideologyhalf a cennrry ater arebeginnnrs oregard totalitanan ideologicsas exce ioDat ather rlun nonnalmaniftstatiors of id€ologli obscurinsthe bona-fide dcologiesharare far more fl)otedin social housht and practice.

freeden ideologies

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