Ideology (Second Edition)

Author: (English) David McClelland
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: This book provides a concise outline of the intellectual lineage of ideology by Professor David McClelland. McClelland argues that there are two main research approaches to the study of ideology. One primarily exists in the philosophy of Britain and France, from Tracy through Durkheim to 20th-century empiricism and structuralism. This approach values human rationality, believing that only the methodology of natural sciences can produce reliable knowledge, and sociological methods should align with those of natural sciences. The other approach originates in Germany, from Hegel and Marx, through Mannheim to Habermas. This approach holds that the methodology of natural sciences is unsuitable for solving social problems, that there is no objective research method, and that ideology is always linked to the partial interests of society. The author conducts extensive research, meticulously analyzes the ideological theories of various schools, and presents his unique insights.