ABSTRACT
This chapter maps the terrain of the ideological debates in the most available educational texts found within the United States. It focuses on the ideologies found within the so-called conservative coalition. The chapter describes how the three so-called conservative ideologies: classical liberalism/neoliberalism, social conservatism, and neoconservatism differ on the division between the public/private, the meaning of democracy, the meaning of freedom and liberty, and the requirements of justice. It explores some of the rhetorical devices such as narratives, tropes, and ideographs favored by each of the ideologies. Ideologies are promoted less by philosophical reasoning and more through persuasive rhetoric. Being able to recognize the rhetorical devices that ideologies use can help the reader of texts grasp more fully what an author might be advocating, but getting hold of the relevant indicators can be difficult. The range of political ideologies found among major American politicians and media is narrowly restricted to liberal democracy.
