Ideology has been pronounced dead on several occasions in the past. The
most recent verdict to this effect has been made in the context of the
globalization debate. It proclaims the decline of 'ideological' politics
in the fragmented societies of today and especially the irrelevance of
established ideological systems and their failure to provide answers to
the dilemmas of an increasingly global world.
This popular view is challenged here. On the basis of conceptual and
historical analysis applied to a range of major ideological traditions
this book argues that no such ideological rupture has in fact occurred.
While conceptual shifts are identifiable, changes have occurred within
existing ideological configurations and according to their pre-existing
logical requirements. Globalization has not destabilized conventional
ideologies to an extent that would render them incoherent. On the
contrary, they remain meaningful as distinct sets of political beliefs
and as such shape the globalization debate.