Ideology
Etymology
Coined in French as "idéologie" around 1796 by the philosopher Destutt de Tracy, from Greek "idea" and "-logia" (study), to mean a "science of ideas." Napoleon turned it into an insult for impractical theorists, and Marx gave it its lasting critical edge: a system of beliefs that masks and serves the interests of a ruling class.
noun · /eye-dee-OL-uh-jee/
A systematic set of beliefs and ideals that shapes how a group sees society and politics.
What it names
A handle for the shared belief-structures that guide movements and parties — and for how such structures can serve a group’s interests.
Example
Their disagreement was not about facts but about ideology — two whole frameworks for what a fair society owes its members.
Related idea
A worldview is how one personally sees things; an ideology is a shared, systematic belief-structure, often tied to group interest and collective action.