Initially, the term ideology meant the 'study of ideas', but the term soon came to acquire negative overtones. Ideology in its modern sense means not 'the study of ideas', but rather a set of ideas, beliefs and values about the way that the social world works, and also about the way the world should work. We therefore might expect the term ideology to be fairly neutral. However the term is generally used with negative connotations. Ideology is seen as negative and susceptible of critical analysis. It is seen as illusory, in particular as it serves to conceal the class divisions in society. Ideology therefore serves to maintain relations of domination. In Marx's own writings, this was conceived of almost exclusively as conflict between social classes. In later writings, the investigation of domination was often extended to include relations of domination between the sexes, ethnic groups, and dominant and subordinate nation's e.t.c. From the idea that ideology serves the interests of......
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