Equality and Socialist Ideology - Essay Example

Section/# Equality and Socialist Ideology With regards to the topic of equality and socialist ideology, there are a number of important linkages between these two terms that bear analysis. For purposes of this brief analysis, the terms equality and ideology will be analyzed on both a personal/individual level as well as on a systemic level. Further, a great deal of historical context also needs to be considered with regards to determining how ideological and egalitarian concepts are born, gain notoriety, and work to incorporate themselves into a type of collectivized worldview that is ultimately translated back into the culture via the form of representative government. Although analyzing all of this necessarily lends itself to seeking to answer the age old riddle of what came first the chicken or the egg, the analysis itself will show that the process is symbiotic rather than mutually exclusive. Furthermore, by seeking to know and understand the levels to which these factors interlace and help to define the context of the culture and form of governance that pervades the current system, the reader can hope to gain valuable insights and key understandings with reference to seeking to better understand the world in which we live. As the two are so interlinked and bear such a high level of relation to one another, the first which will be discussed is equality with the second being ideology. Next a discussion of how these two forces interact and have an impact on culture and vice versa will be discussed followed by a final section on the impacts that both have on governance, self identity, and culture. The first determinant which will be discussed is that of ideology. As was noted in the introduction, the two terms which will be analyzed within the course of this essay are somewhat nebulous and do tend to feed back into one another at various junctures; however, for purposes of clarity, ideology should be tackled first. The reason for tackling the definition and means by which ideology influences upon equality first is due to the fact that in nearly every emergent movement, ideology or culture is the level of equality that the components seem to have concerning their members. This can be understood as a type of baseline for without it the level to which identity formation can begin to congeal is minimal (Angeloff et al 2012, p. 21). This has of course been noted time and time again throughout history as groups self actualize, form an identity, gain an ideology and only then consider the level to which the component parts will share in equality among the rest (McConnell 2010, p. 140). The ideological formation is extraordinarily important due to the fact that the components that are built within this phase directly impact upon the level of equality which is possible once the ideology itself has been formulated. Although the process that has herein been described appears to be something of rigid concept, the fact of the matter is that it is most fluid and open to the interpretation of the individuals that seek to form the ideology in the first place. This level of fluid change allows for the process to evolve in any number of ways; thereby making a firm and solid definition of the term even more difficult for the researcher. While on the topic of ideology, it is important to note that the process that has herein been described does not of course have to come as a function of forming a new system entirely; rather, it can come from redefining necessary components of a working system, worldview, or personal take on a given issue. As a function of this, the level to which these terms interrelate and coalesce becomes even more complex when one takes the issue outside of the bounds of systemic change and incorporates them into the realm of individual and worldview modulations (Whitely 1978, p. 211). This complicates the definition somewhat due to the fact that this level of incorporation necessarily bends and redirects the original ideology and identity that helped to form the process in the first place; however, this step itself is necessary and merely a process of governance and evidence of the morphology that exists between ideas and action itself. Secondly, equality is the factor that typically comes to the forefront of the political spectrum once an ideology or some semblance thereof has already been formulated by the leading members of the society/group. Speaking broadly, it is the equality component of the equation which helps to create the final constructs which will move the system towards a greater degree of appreciation and understanding of identity formation. Similarly, one should not look at ideology and/or equality and assume them to be a type of political process that take a few iterations to establish and once they are in motion then the process is complete (Aronson 2005, p. 28). As recent history has proven to the contrary that the process of equality and better realization and representation of this equality is something that is necessarily an ongoing process that cannot be succinctly denoted to have a starting point or an ending point. Moreover, the issue of equality within the context of the political spectrum and formulation of identity is ultimately a question of the “who” - whereas the ideology which has previously been mentioned is a question of the what. In this way, the individuals within the given system are able to seek to determine precisely what commonality they might agree upon and then from that standpoint work to recognize the individualities that have not only contributed to the process but that are not necessarily represented within it. Of course, as is the case with any definition, actuality is far different from the text of a definition. The process itself is of course infinitely more complex and difficult to analyze when taken on a systemic level; however, the fact remains that whether this is analyzed on a systemic or individual basis, the root definitions and behavior of human psychology, whether solitary or as a member of a group, bear stark similarities. Finally, the way that these two factors congeal to form an action is the crux of the issue at hand. As has been discussed already, the ideology itself can be described as the “what” whereas the “equality” can be defined as the “who”; yet, there is still a component missing from any actionable plan or method of governance out of this equation (Gardener 2008, p. 560). This is of course the “how”. The how within the given situation is the point to which the aforementioned qualities and definitions of self and group come together to create a type of actionable plan which will seek to serve the needs of the group. Naturally, not all forms of governance can do this in an acceptable means. Moreover, certain forms of governance will attempt to turn the process on its head and seek to forcibly create an identity, and then create a type of equality all for the purpose of serving a particular ideology (Abramitzsky 2008, p. 1115). Naturally, as has been shown time and time again throughout the course of history, governments that ascribe to such a forcible and manipulative system in order to achieve their goals are oftentimes very short-lived. On the other hand, one cannot too forcibly praise or laud the democracy as the embodiment of the champion of rights and privileges of those that would otherwise not experience a degree of equality due to the fact that there are a host of instances that point to situations in which the rights of the few have been trampled upon by the needs or desires of the many within stable fully functional democracies. In this sense, even though the democracy is held up as the ideal of self governance under which the rights of humanity are best represented, it has been of course proven that no system is perfect and even within the constructs of democracy both the ideology itself can become twisted and the level to which equality is realized for the member components of the group can be severely limited (Peka 2010, p. 90). Yet, regardless of its shortcomings, the fact remains that of the systems that currently exist, the representative democracy has demonstrably proven that it is the most amenable towards alleviating the suffering of the masses and seeking to represent the needs of the groups under its purview in a more efficient manner than the other forms of known government that exist or have existed within the past. As this analysis has noted, the correlation between identity, ideology, and equality is very close and tightly linked. As a function of a free flowing entity that self actualizes, seeks to categorize the environment within which it lives, and eventually develops a representative model which seeks to speak to the needs of the component parts, the process itself is something akin to a type of natural evolution. Invariably, if the process is forced it fails or develops in an unnatural way which is no longer indicative of the manner by which this analysis has sought to describe it. References Abramitzky, R 2008, 'The Limits Of Equality: Insights From The Israeli Kibbutz', Quarterly Journal Of Economics, 123, 3, pp. 1111-1159, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 January 2013. Angeloff, T, & Lieber, M 2012, 'Equality, Did You Say?', China Perspectives, 2012, 4, pp. 17-24, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 January 2013. 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