An ideology is an army of convictions about how the world is and how it ought to be. As befitting a military force, ideologies are fueled by a sense of threat - kept at bay through a fortress-like structure called the ideological square. - Ideology, Part I- Exploring the Problem Space
The ideological square comes in many flavors, including:
Basic 'Us versus Them' Square
Exaggerate our wonderfulness
Exaggerate their awfulness
Downplay our flaws
Downplay their virtues
Incompatible Views of Reality Square
Exaggerate how awful things are now
Downplay how good things are now
Exaggerate how much worse things will be if we don’t prevail
Downplay how much better things will be if they prevail
Incompatible Visions of Possible Futures Square
Exaggerate how great things will be if we prevail
Exaggerate how awful things will be if they prevail
Downplay the potential harm if we prevail
Downplay the potential good if they prevail
Ideologies are typically inspired by utopian visions entailing a radical overhaul of the existing order - what I call the Big Solution. Problems like poverty or environmental harm may drive initial attraction to a Big Solution, but in time the relationship between problem and solution changes. That is, where once the Big Solution was seen as a means to fixing problems, it eventually becomes an end in itself - one that requires Big Problems to justify. That’s because Big Solutions tend to involve painful sacrifice (the darkness before the dawn). And that pain had better be worth it!
Next: Green New Deal? Meet Your Enabler: The Ideological Square
References:
Van Dijk, TA (1995). Discourse Semantics and Ideology. Discourse & Society, 6(2): 243-289.