Ideology
An ideology is a connected set of beliefs about how society works and how it ought to be arranged, held widely enough to guide political action. The word is used in two ways. Neutrally, it names any such belief system, including the reader's own. Critically, following Marx, it names beliefs that present the interests of a particular group as though they were the interests of everyone. Which sense is in play changes the argument entirely, since the critical sense is an accusation and the neutral one is not.
Why it matters
The next stage of this plan catalogues ideologies, and reading them fairly requires treating the label as a description rather than a verdict.
Where it comes up
Read about Ideology on Wikipedia
