Theoretical dimension of the research of the ideological factor of world political processes

Abstract

The authors attempt to conceptualize approaches to determining the nature and place of political ideology, its main social functions, as well as the structural levels of functioning of political doctrines. Among the main functions of political ideology authors considers the following: uniting society around certain values, the function of legitimizing political power, mobilizing people to solve problems of social development, the function of social depreciation, which is the ability to interpret social reality and reduce tensions in conflict between people’s needs and the real possibilities for their satisfaction.
The authors singled out the following levels of functioning of political doctrines in the structure of political ideology: the first level – theoretical and conceptual; the second is a program-political, and the third is an actualized level of political ideology. Political ideology itself, according to the authors, is a product of modernization, because in traditional society, nothing like ideology in the modern sense of the word did not exist.
Considering the approach to ways and means of resolving conflicts, as well as taking into account the vision of economic development, the views of leading theorists on ideological currents were outlined. Thus, two large groups of ideologies were considered: moderate and radical. The moderate ideologies include all three so-called "big" ideologies of our time: liberal, conservative, and socialist. Political radicalism, in turn, is divided into two types – right and left. The views of theorists on the beliefs that underlie the system of ideological values of modern political ideologies are systematized. Such ideological values determine the content of political activity.
The authors note that ideology is a tool for constructing the basic mechanisms of political behavior, becomes a conscious or unconscious altered view in order to justify political domination, helping to mobilize the masses and manipulate human behavior.