[Main Blog Post] The Trouble with "Ideology"

[jprussell]

A much shorter post than my last one, this time fleshing out something that came up in a discussion with a friend: does everyone have an ideology? Should he? Join me to explore what the word means to different folks, what value (and risks) come with it, and what we might do going forward.

Comments

[k_a_nitz]

Given "Ideology" is a key term in Karl Marx's writings I was surprised not to see it mentioned - though it sounds like Jordan Peterson is drawing a bit on Marx there.

[jprussell]

Oh yeah, of course to both counts - Marxism and its intellectual descendants is likely the ideology Peterson mostly takes aim at in his critiques, and I certainly had it in mind when talking about Englightenment-derived rational systems of how to think about the world and what to do about it. Also, Peterson has acknowledged that Marx had some valid critiques mixed in there, even if he strongly disagrees with Marx's prescription on what to do about it. I just 1) didn't want to get too bogged down in specific ideologies, and 2) have not yet read Marx, so he's only been an influence on my thinking on this or any other subject at a remove or three.