CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

‘Ideology’ is one of the most elusive words in the political dictionary. Eschewing the esoteric and jargon-ridden approaches which often characterize its study, the opening chapter argues the case for understanding political ideologies as relatively coherent bodies of thought relating to issues such as human nature (are we inherently good or evil?) and socio-economic organization (does the state enslave or protect us?).

Ten core chapters then define the great ‘isms’ which have played a major part in shaping the modern world. They look at questions such as:

• Will liberalism, with its resonant rhetoric of freedom and markets, be the dominant creed of the new millennium?

• Has socialism suffered from brain death, or is a new ‘Third Way’ (between communism and capitalism) emerging?

• Is nationalism essentially a dangerous mythology, or can it take intellectually defensible forms?

• Should we—as radical ecologists proclaim—think globally and act locally?

• Is Islamic fundamentalism a fanatical and menacing creed, or has it been misunderstood in the West?

The concluding chapter considers more systematically the issue of whether we are witnessing the ‘end of ideology’. It answers very much in the negative. Indeed, never has the understanding of political ideologies been more important.