The Importance Of Political Ideology

1562 Words4 Pages

Regarding political theory, Ideology refers to the specific categorising frameworks for political action that make up each theoretical belief system based upon class interest and perception of societal functioning. Fundamentally, ideologies consist of a critique on the pre-existing ideology and practice, ideas expressing the desired order and belief system, and the agency to achieve this. Ideologies are integral in political theory as they enable labelling and grouping of belief’s and functioning to allow presentation of differing and understandable theories of potential changes, dogma, and policies of what political theorists believe should be the ideal system. Ideologies have immense influence on political theory through offering differing …show more content…

Exclusion occurs through systemic and conditioned behavioural responses as a response to a perceived “other” from the dominant group in society. Two key theorists who explore differing excluded groups present important ideas to explain how this exclusion occurs, Frantz Fanon focuses on exclusion for colonized people and Simone De Beauvoir discusses the exclusion of women in society. Fanon’s critical theme for his explanation on how exclusion occurs to colonised is through violence. He believes that colonisation is marked with violence initially from the colonising group through invasion and hijacking of land. After this occurs physical violence in order to subjugate the colonised group into tolerating the colonisers. The colonisers have to continue to maintain threat of violence or superiority in order to sustain the imposed new social order. As a person of colour, Fanon’s theories derive from his personal experiences with white colonialism and expand upon other colonised groups. An overarching theme of Fanon’s explanation for how exclusion occurs is the overt nature and presence of exclusion. He references the violence of exclusion repeatedly which suggests that colonial exclusion does not attempt a façade from the colonising group. This is unlike other forms of exclusion which rely on subtle and conditioned perceptions on the “other” and pseudo-lesser groups of

Open Document