Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Cultural Globalization, Cosmopolitanism, Totalitarianism

• School: Western University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: Political Science 1020E
• Professor: Nigmendra Narain

Document Summary

All political ideas are moulded by the social and historical circumstances in which they develop and by the political ambitions they serve. Ideas and ideologies: structure political understanding and so set goals and inspire activism, shape the nature of political systems, act as a form of social contract. Pragmatism: behaviour shaped in accordance with practical circumstances and goals rather than ideological objectives. Political ideas and ideologies unify groups or classes around a set of beliefs and values. Political ideas help to promote order and social stability. The word ideology was coined during the french revolution by antoine destutt de tracy (1754- ideology is the science of ideas: the study of the origin of our ideas and their laws of operation. The ideas of the ruling class are basically the ruling ideas. Ideology is about delusion and mystification: it perpetrates a false or mistaken view of the world. (false consciousness)