This is still an age of ideology. While not quite as bad as the 20th century, ideology still runs rampant. The reason that ideology is corrupting is that it is a distorted way of looking at reality. Instead of examining something as it is, ideology filters what is examined through a set of filters which limit oneself to an idea of good and evil which is based on a set of ideological constructs. This both limits ones options in dealing with an issue, and causes the issue itself to be judged based on artificial criteria. All lead to a dangerous disconnect from reality.
No ideology is immune to this. Capitalism, communism, libertarianism, fascism, anarchism, and traditionalism are all ideologies, and they all if given the chance will assert themselves at the expense of all else. Are free markets raping the environment to the point that entire ecosystems are dying? A libertarian would say that it is "wrong" for the government to step in. Communists believe in a teleological argument that humans are destined for communism. This is a dangerously naive belief which has its roots in Judeo-Christian millenialism. Seeking to fulfill this belief is dangerous and requires massive amounts of destruction in order to try to implement a fairy tale utopia.
Fascism is similar, but with the ideology being more aristocratic, faux-traditional, and militaristic. Fascism is especially notable as an ideology due to its proponents' tendency to redefine reality according to the whims of those in power. For instance, fascist philosopher Julius Evola shows through being an exaggerated extremist the tendency to try to redefine reality. He tried to cast Buddhism as "originally" being a "warrior religion". The idea is that reality is simply what those in power say it is, and that those in power need not try to understand reality, but may redefine it as suits them.
Ideology is always in opposition to reality. Its prevalence is largely due to the mass society made possible through mass communications. Mass amounts of people can be brought to believe in a particular ideology, and the breakdown of traditional religion tends to make people desire to be part of a larger whole which they find in a limited sense in ideology. Don't fall for ideology; approach reality as it is, and determine solutions accordingly.
No ideology is immune to this. Capitalism, communism, libertarianism, fascism, anarchism, and traditionalism are all ideologies, and they all if given the chance will assert themselves at the expense of all else. Are free markets raping the environment to the point that entire ecosystems are dying? A libertarian would say that it is "wrong" for the government to step in. Communists believe in a teleological argument that humans are destined for communism. This is a dangerously naive belief which has its roots in Judeo-Christian millenialism. Seeking to fulfill this belief is dangerous and requires massive amounts of destruction in order to try to implement a fairy tale utopia.
Fascism is similar, but with the ideology being more aristocratic, faux-traditional, and militaristic. Fascism is especially notable as an ideology due to its proponents' tendency to redefine reality according to the whims of those in power. For instance, fascist philosopher Julius Evola shows through being an exaggerated extremist the tendency to try to redefine reality. He tried to cast Buddhism as "originally" being a "warrior religion". The idea is that reality is simply what those in power say it is, and that those in power need not try to understand reality, but may redefine it as suits them.
Ideology is always in opposition to reality. Its prevalence is largely due to the mass society made possible through mass communications. Mass amounts of people can be brought to believe in a particular ideology, and the breakdown of traditional religion tends to make people desire to be part of a larger whole which they find in a limited sense in ideology. Don't fall for ideology; approach reality as it is, and determine solutions accordingly.
