"ideology n. ideas that form the basis of a political or economic theory." (The Oxford Popular Dictionary, 1991).

"Ideology. Ideology may be the most difficult but the most often used concept in the social sciences." (The Penguin Dictionary Of Politics, Robertson, 1985).

Ever since Napoleon dismissed Destutt de Tracy as a 'mere ideologist' at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the word 'ideology' has been a bone of contention with many people involved in sociological and political disciplines. Originally coined to label the 'science of ideas' by de Tracy in the May of 1797, during the French Revolution, it was first seen as a intellectual product of the Enlightenment, and one may argue that in its virginity the term was neutral and objective.

Following on from Napoleon's corruption of the word, other theorists have been quick to adopt the term in a pejorative fashion, including perhaps most influentially Karl Marx, whom I shall consider below.

Marx used ideology in his works in a strictly negative or restrictive sense. He outlines ideology as a tool of the bourgeoisie for developing a 'false consciousness amongst the proletariat, "The false consciousness of a ruling class, its ideology, guides it accordingly to the direction of its own interest. The ideology of the bourgeoisie, for example, is the programme of bourgeois expansion and power." (Drucker, 1974). Marx viewed any theory that concealed the contradictions of class societies as ideological, whereas he considered his own theories to be scientific.

This notion of ideology being a powerful oppressive tool is echoed by authors such as Kenneth Minogue, "Ideology in its essential form unmasks partiality and hidden domination everywhere, even in the speculations of philosophers and in the majesty of law." (Minogue, 1985). This reference to ideology being inherent in law is perhaps an expansion of Althuser's argument that, "an ideology always exists in an apparatus and its practice." (Althuser, 1970). Indeed both are criticisms of the institutions of modern society.

The role of ideology as a tool for subjugation has been traced back before Marx, indeed before de Tracy, by Jorge Larrain, " In feudal society ideology resorted to religion in order to justify class domination; in capitalist society ideology tries to appear as science so as to conceal all trace of class domination." (Larrain, 1979). This introduces a notion of contemporary domination being so subtle that it is barely noticeable, so well disguised as scientific 'truths' are the ideas that are presented. An alternative, but equally as damning view of ideology is the manipulative model of the media, where ideological ideas are constantly broadcast/published in the guise of truths,for example within the news or documentaries.

All of the above views can be summarised as left-wing criticisms of ideology, and all use the term in a pejorative and subjective sense. However, some Marxists have developed a more positive notion of ideology, most notably Lenin and Gramsci.