What is an ideology, and how does it influence our thinking?
An ideology is essentially a system of thought, a structure of ideas that relate to each other and give a meaningful purpose. From my experience in the socialist state of the GDR, I learned firsthand what an ideology truly means. Often, what we think on a daily basis is considered common sense, but what if that is just an ideology that we fail to recognize?
The nature of ideology: Everything is interconnected
To explain how an ideology works, I often use the example of a coffee cup. A coffee cup could not exist without the concepts of porcelain, handle, or beverage. It is interconnected with other terms, just as ideas are interdependent. An ideology works similarly: The thoughts we harbor are connected in a network, and this network shapes how we perceive the world.
We often only understand the term ideology when we view the system from an external perspective. Ideologies seem natural when we experience them daily, but foreign ideologies require effort to comprehend. This makes it difficult to realize that we are living within an ideology.
Socialist ideology and its implementation in the GDR
In the GDR, the dominant ideology was Marxism-Leninism, based on the ideas of Karl Marx. Marx explained in his work “Das Kapital” that workers would go to the capitalist for a meager wage and create the actual wealth, but they would receive little of it. The Marxist ideology predicted that eventually, the workers would seize the means of production to address the inherent injustices.
In the GDR, factories were transformed into state-owned enterprises (VEBs), and agriculture was organized into agricultural production cooperatives (LPGs). However, even though the factories were under socialist control, the workers had no real ownership. The power lay with the functionaries, not the proletariat.
The socialist vision aimed to communalize everything. But in reality, property was owned by no one in particular. Those in charge were the functionaries, not the workers. The ideology was pervasive in the GDR; everyone knew what they had to say to fit in, creating a strong societal uniformity.
Science and ideology – A lesson from history
Interestingly, the Marxist philosophy was labeled as “scientific,” meaning it could not be questioned. This is reminiscent of the dispute between Galileo Galilei and church officials. Galilei argued that the Earth revolved around the sun, but the Church refused to look through his telescope, insisting that everything was already clarified in the Bible. Similarly, in the GDR, Marx’s ideas were considered infallible.
Ideologies often function similarly. They act as a form of indoctrination, implanting ideas into people’s minds. Everyone believed in the socialist system because there was no alternative. Journalists, teachers, and professors all praised socialism as the only viable solution. But when the system collapsed, many realized they had been saying only what they needed to in order to get by.
In the end, the ideology failed because it simply didn’t work. The people of the GDR were dissatisfied, especially when comparing themselves to their West German counterparts.
Article on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism
Link to the YouTube video with English subtitles