https://www.thoughtco.com/ideology-definition-3026356
Ideology is the lens through which a person views the world. Within the field of sociology, ideology is broadly understood to refer to the sum total of a person's values, beliefs, assumptions, and expectations. Ideology exists within society, within groups, and between people. It shapes our thoughts, actions, and interactions, along with what happens in society at large.
Ideology is a fundamental concept in sociology. Sociologists study it because it plays such a powerful role in shaping how society is organized and how it functions. Ideology is directly related to the social structure, economic system of production, and political structure. It both emerges out of these things and shapes them.
Often, when people use the word "ideology" they are referring to a particular ideology rather than the concept itself. For example, many people, especially in the media, refer to extremist views or actions as being inspired by a particular ideology (for example, "radical Islamic ideology" or "white power ideology") or as "ideological." Within sociology, much attention is paid to what is known as the dominant ideology, or the particular ideology that is most common and strongest in a given society.
However, the concept of ideology itself is actually general in nature and not tied to one particular way of thinking. In this sense, sociologists define ideology as a person's worldview and recognize that there are various and competing ideologies operating in a society at any given time, some more dominant than others.
Ultimately, ideology determines how we make sense of things. It provides an ordered view of the world, our place in it, and our relationship to others. As such, it is deeply important to the human experience, and typically something that people cling to and defend, whether or not they are conscious of doing so. And, as ideology emerges out of the social structure and social order, it is generally expressive of the social interests that are supported by both.
Terry Eagleton, a British literary theorist, and intellectual explained it this way in his 1991 book Ideology: An Introduction:
Ideology is a system of concepts and views which serves to make sense of the world while obscuring the social interests
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German philosopher Karl Marx is considered the first to provide a theoretical framing of ideology within the context of sociology.
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According to Marx, ideology emerges out of a society's mode of production. In his case and in that of the modern United States, the economic mode of production is capitalism.
Marx's approach to ideology was set forth in his theory of base and superstructure. According to Marx, the superstructure of society, the realm of ideology, grows out of the base, the realm of production, to reflect the interests of the ruling class and justify the status quo that keeps them in power. Marx, then, focused his theory on the concept of a dominant ideology.
However, he viewed the relationship between base and superstructure as dialectical in nature, meaning that each affects the other equally and that a change in one necessitates a change in the other. This belief formed the basis for Marx's theory of revolution. He believed that once workers developed a class consciousness and became aware of their exploited position relative to the powerful class of factory owners and financiers—in other words, when they experienced a fundamental shift in ideology—that they would then act on that ideology by organizing and demanding a change in the social, economic, and political structures of society.
The working-class revolution that Marx predicted never happened. Nearly 200 years after the publication of The Communist Manifesto, capitalism maintains a strong grip on global society and the inequalities it fosters continue to grow.