By
idea, Hegel fused the comprehension and the experience of reality (a matured union of the physical and the spiritual).
Ideology, on the other hand, is the filter or
looking glass through which the world is viewed. A
closed system of
ideas which maintains itself in the face of contrary experience, i.e.
deliberately false.
Ideology rejects experience, benefiting the ready-made, theoretical answer. For
Marxists (neo-Hegelians), it mirrored a variety of meanings, most notably:
- ideas which help to legitimate a dominant political power;
- systematically distorted communication;
- socially necessary illusion;
- the confusion of linguistic and phenomenal reality.
By selective exclusion,
legitimate illusion appears.
Consider the following. You point to a group, allow them to identify themselves as oppressed, and then feed them with the incentive to become the new rulers--instigating so-called class "consciousness" or "awareness."
As such, ideology is brainwashing/mind control
par excellence. It is the process by which a common goal is identified, then distorted and replaced with a
legitimate illusion, and finally pursued.
An example of such a distortion is
identity politics. Movements such as Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam, Don Black's Stormfront Community, Sonia Sotomayor's La Raza, and all of those who on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender or other distinguishable features of exclusion seek
liberation (the legitimate illusion), not
liberty (the original pursuit).
An image recurring in this and other forums is the Marxist social hierarchy, said to be displaying inequalities and the power machinery of contemporary socities. Let's give it a look.
As the image distorts and confuses (ideologically tainted), it succeeds in giving full legitimacy (right to power) to the group identified at the bottom of the "pyramid." Furthermore, there is no animate object at the top. God is replaced by money (mammon), which is weighing down the structure and decorating those closest to it. This is of course a continuation of the wide scope of Judeo-Christian theology, yet reversed, putting mammon at the top of the hierarchy and God's people at the bottom.
The structure speaks to the sensitivity of the Judeo-Christian mindset, pointing towards the reward of a unified struggle, of "liberation" from the "tyranny of mammon" (or, by Marxist standards, also the "tyranny of God"). In sum, the power tool (ideology) is the very
medium convincing you that "truth" and "power" is being kept from you by someone or something (the invented enemy). You are the tyrannized seeking tyranny (the last becoming the first) in the name of
liberation.
As Marxism has passed on, neo-Marxism (big-government "welfare-ism," internationalism, secularism, progressive liberalism) and identity politics are growing ever stronger, backed by the media, institutions, universities, think tanks, etc. The prefix "neo" indicates that the ideology's final solution ("the dictatorship of the proletariat") is rejected, but the premises are kept, along with the experimental rule of the inner circle (the cabal or
avant-garde) pushing the envelope.
Moving on to the next level, let's take a look at some current politicians--and dismiss them. For as much as I respect the independence and fervor of Ralph Nader, Dennis Kucinich and Cynthia McKinney, I can't look past them being neo-Marxists partaking in the ongoing manipulation. Add Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Alan Keyes to that list, proponents of a persistent and tricky ideology known as
neoconservatism (a bizarre fusion of neo-Marxism (see above), neo-Trotskyism (perpetual global revolution/warfare), free-trade neoliberalism, and the maintenance of Christian values as a necessary social cohesion). Also, make sure to ignore Pat Buchanan, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson who time and time again lose themselves in the ramblings of identity politics.
Follow the trail (from Hegel's initial notions) of this design, and you'll see that all of those mentioned above are third generation ("neo-neo")
Hegelians falsely appearing on opposite sides of the political spectrum. And as they occupy the entire scene, this group
generates the continuous manipulation of our minds, looking to merge their agenda with the subjective motive of any given individual. One free of ideology is either a
libertarian or a genuine
conservative, seeking the original intent of a given
idea: the Constitution, the Republic, life, liberty, rule of law, etc. Ron and Rand Paul, Jesse Ventura, Chuck Baldwin, Michael Peroutka, Michael Badnarik, even Bob Barr (to some extent), come to mind. They appear outside of the spectrum, outside of the illusory left-right paradigm, shattering the looking glass. This is the only true
opposition to the Hegelian hegemony of ideologies, and as Americans, we should either stand up or stand aside.
