Are ideologies benefitting society or harming it?
Since the dawn of time, we have used ideologies,religions and cultures to distinguish one person from another. Although many criticize such concepts as ‘primitive’ and ‘conflict-causing’, it is commendable that the same concepts have continued to survive for thousands of years, even if they may have faced prejudice. Whether it was the Jews in World War II or the Communists in 1960s America, we all feel a certain way towards an ideology. But is this feeling destroying the society that we live in?
For starters, stereotypes constantly rule over those who follow a certain ideology. For example, capitalists are sometimes seen as power hungry, white men who enjoy profiting off others while Italian people are seen as loud, lazy and brash. Such stigmas have created conflict in society and many riots have sparked because a particular group of people felt that they were being treated unfairly by others and the local governments.
Secondly, political parties should avoid using a political ideology to describe themselves because every ideology has its own stereotypes which can hinder the party’s progress. For example, the Labour Party (both cases applies to the UK and Malta) was seen as the party dedicated for the workers that was socialist leaning and was even considered as a ‘Communist’ party by its opponents. Although this may have been the case in the past, nowadays the two parties have become more centrist and avoid steering too far to the left. The same occurred with the Conservatives who were more right-leaning in the past but have now become more centrist.
However, although such parties have become less extreme, one must remember that they still hold on to some of these values which is what distinguishes these parties.
In conclusion, the concept of ideologies may seem necessary for some who feel that no party is the same (and thus should never be the same) but others state that being too liberal when attributing ideologies to political parties and politicians will create an even larger divide between the people in a society.
Thank you for reading
Gavin Muscat
For starters, stereotypes constantly rule over those who follow a certain ideology. For example, capitalists are sometimes seen as power hungry, white men who enjoy profiting off others while Italian people are seen as loud, lazy and brash. Such stigmas have created conflict in society and many riots have sparked because a particular group of people felt that they were being treated unfairly by others and the local governments.
Secondly, political parties should avoid using a political ideology to describe themselves because every ideology has its own stereotypes which can hinder the party’s progress. For example, the Labour Party (both cases applies to the UK and Malta) was seen as the party dedicated for the workers that was socialist leaning and was even considered as a ‘Communist’ party by its opponents. Although this may have been the case in the past, nowadays the two parties have become more centrist and avoid steering too far to the left. The same occurred with the Conservatives who were more right-leaning in the past but have now become more centrist.
However, although such parties have become less extreme, one must remember that they still hold on to some of these values which is what distinguishes these parties.
In conclusion, the concept of ideologies may seem necessary for some who feel that no party is the same (and thus should never be the same) but others state that being too liberal when attributing ideologies to political parties and politicians will create an even larger divide between the people in a society.
Thank you for reading
Gavin Muscat
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