ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the content of that ideology as it applies to the theory of international relations. Ideology is not only denied the role of “midwife of history,” but is also excluded as a basis for justification of political actions. Pragmatism is an ideology in which the present, rather than the past or the future, commands the center of attention. The ideology underlying political realism is also present-oriented, as is implied by the term “realism” itself—an orientation in which things “as they are” remain at the focus of attention. Even more clearly obsolete is the ideology underlying political realism in the sphere of international relations. H. Morgenthau expresses skepticism concerning the historical role of ideologies as forces that transform the political world or as forces that can be harnessed to effect desirable transformations. Daniel Bell’s acceptance of the present-oriented ideology has a broader philosophical base. As Bell put it, American egalitarianism was a “surrogate of socialism” to the American masses.
