I

Ideology This concept is the object of continuing debate and argument, although all uses of it suggest that it refers to a complex of ideas. This reflects the origin of the term in the late eighteenth century when it was used to refer, in a technical sense, to the science of ideas. It took on another meaning around the same time, one of which is still predominant in common-sense discourse and in conservative political thought. This uses the term in a pejorative sense to refer to impractical or fanatical theory, to ideas which are abstract and which ignore “the facts.” Neither of these two uses are of any direct relevance to the way in which the concept is employed analytically now.