The domains of ideological discourse

Abstract

Abstract Definitional problems have hounded the concept of ideology, almost from its origins some two centuries ago. Apart from the more familiar reasons for this imbroglio, the article explores the very diverse levels of ideological speech—ranging from the quasi‐philosophical to mass belief systems—and the obstacles that this variety raises to any single, definitionally integrated understanding of the ideological phenomenon. In place of fruitless definitional wrangles, it is argued that phenomenologically mapping the various domains of ideological discourse—their unique attributes, constraints, objectives, measures of success, protagonists, styles, audiences, etc—offers a more profitable avenue of exploration.