Demarcating Political Philosophy and Political Ideology

Abstract

It is necessary to demarcate political philosophy and political science, on the one hand, from political ideology, on the other, not only to save philosophy and science from ideological distortion, but also to provide an antidote for ideology. The problem of ideology is at heart a problem of values and a problem of relativism. Normative thought, precisely because it deals with human interests and values, tends to be most readily dismissed as non-scientific and non-philosophic ideology, or seen as more vulnerable to ideological distortion than other thought. Although the problem of ideology is a problem of values, the solution is not the demarcation of analytic political philosophy, empirical political science and normative political ideology. As I argued in Chapter 6 there can be no value-free study of politics. Normative political thought is essential, but if it is to avoid being dismissed as ideology, it must avoid relativism, which I criticised in the previous chapter. The solution of the problem of ideology must be, ultimately, the solution of the problem of relativism. Thus, the solution of the problem of political ideology is rational normative political thought which can know the objective order of politics; give an objective, absolute foundation to political values; and can distinguish proper from improper political values.