Wheat from the Chaff Blog

In the world of political thought, philosophies, theories and ideologies are traditionally viewed as distinct entities. A philosophy is considered a systematic and logical understanding of the world arrived at primarily through reason and intellect. A theory is also said to be systematic and logical, but aims to represent empirical data and observed evidence. In other words, social scientific theory aspires to a certain level of verisimilitude – a correspondence between explanation and the real, tangible world. Finally, an ideology is a set of beliefs – again, said to be internally systematic and coherent – that has, at its core, a functional political agenda, a worldview that organizes groups either in favour of or against the status quo. Thus, philosophies, theories and ideologies may all set their gaze on politics, and seek a sense of coherence and truthfulness, but they are distinguished by their respective emphases on rationality, science or political action.

Nevertheless, there are many who see little difference between philosophies, theories and ideologies. The respected political philosopher, Sheldon Wolin, treats these as interchangeable terms: “Of all the restraints upon the political philosopher’s freedom to speculate, none has been so powerful as the tradition of political philosophy itself. In the act of philosophizing, the theorist enters into a debate the terms of which have largely been set beforehand” (Wolin 21). Moreover, philosophy and theory, particularly in the realm of political knowledge, are inherently programmatic. Most political thinkers, even Plato, “have believed that precisely because political philosophy was ‘political,’ it was committed to lessening the gap between the possibilities grasped through political imagination and the actualities of political existence” (ibid 20).

To Wolin, all three types of political thought are united by their common goals: to make sense of our political lives, and to provide the clearest account of the realities and potentials of politics.

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* Wolin, Sheldon. Politics and Vision, Expanded Edition (Princeton University Press, Princeton), 2004.