1.2.4 Various Themes in Ideologies



 

Apartheid Sign. Public domain.

 

You may have learned about apartheid in South Africa in one of your previous Social Studies classes. In Afrikaans, the word means separateness. It was a legal system that segregated the people in South Africa based on their race ("black", "white", "coloured", or "Indian"). The system was in effect in South Africa from 1948 until 1994. When this system was begun, blacks lost their citizenship in their own country. They were removed forcibly from their homes and sent to "homelands". Better education, health care, and other services were provided to white people ("Europeans" or "whites").

What is the basis for apartheid to be considered an "ideology"? How does apartheid exhibit the characteristics of an ideology you learned about in the previous section? Consider how South African apartheid answered the following questions:

  • What is the nature of human beings?
  • How should society be structured?
  • How has history shaped our view of the present?
  • How do we envision the future of South Africa?

All ideologies attempt to answer these types of questions and they often exhibit various themes. For example, apartheid was a political and economic system based on beliefs that society should be structured around race. This led to an unequal socio-political system of rigid laws based on racial superiority.

Here is a list of possible themes that often present themselves in ideologies:
  • nation
  • class
  • race
  • relationship to the land or environment
  • gender
  • religion
  • progressivism

Depending on a person or group's particular ideology, a theme or themes may be dominant. For example, adherence to a religious belief may be more important to Hutterites than loyalty to a nation. As the course progresses, you will learn more about how these themes have influenced ideologies in the past and the present.

How would you explain the ideological characteristics of apartheid?




  • The nature of human beings:  Under apartheid, the dominant society held the belief that white people were different, and in fact, superior to people from other races and that the two races could not live side by side.

  • Structure of society:  Under apartheid, there was a very definite structure to society in which people of various races had various legal rights and various roles.

  • Interpretation of history:  The nation known today as South Africa was colonized by the Dutch and the British in the 1800s. Many Europeans settled in the area, establishing farms and mining operations. The Europeans dominated the economy and politics of the area and claimed to believe that the African people would be better able to rule themselves under their previous system of tribal rule and that the European people would be better off under their own form of democracy.

  • Vision for the future:  A future was envisioned in which there would be distinct geographic areas an\long with different laws and expectations for white and black South Africans.

Was progressivism a theme of apartheid?

Progressivism is a movement that supports better conditions for the average person.  For a more specific definition, check out the course glossary, or read page 51 of your textbook.

Under apartheid, the average white person enjoyed political, social and economic advantages compared to black South Africans. In part, this was based on the idea  that black South Africans would live better in their own homelands, rather than integrated with whites or living in cities.


    Read, starting at the heading "The Themes of Ideology", pages 50 to 51 in Perspectives on Ideology. Give particular attention to the chart on page 51. Stop at the heading "Ideologies in Practice" on page 51.
   Take point form notes on each theme listed in the chart on page 51 of your textbook.
    Watch a brief news story about the history of apartheid  in South Africa.

View this PowerPoint on Ideologies