The State of Political Theory and the Problem of Ideology

The nature and relationship of philosophy, science and ideology as modes of political thought is the subject of a number of important debates in the latter half of the twentieth century. For most of the history of political thought little or no distinction is made between political philosophy and political science, and the term political ideology does not exist (although what is now termed ideology may have existed). For at least 2500 years, from the ancient Greeks to the great thinkers of the nineteenth century, such as Marx and Mill, there has been a recognisable and recognised tradition of political philosophy. Certainly the discipline has undergone great changes in this time, but there remains a tradition of normative political thought, concerned with the standards and goals of political life, and with the justification and criticism of political behaviour and institutions. In the second half of the twentieth century, however, political philosophy has experienced dramatic changes of fortune amid great debates on the nature and status of the discipline. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.