How Ideology Destroys

Ideology is the dangerous moment someone decides that their idea is correct, in every way, perfect. There is no shifting them and yet it is still only an idea. A way of thinking or of doing things. For instance, ideology told Gordon Brown that he should sell much of the UK's gold reserve. Gold was he said, old hat. This notion that wealth runs to gold in times of crisis was an ancient and out of date concept.

Not only had Brown ended the boom and bust cycle, his ideology told him, thus making crises a thing of the past, but also economic theories such as he cleaved to, proved that currency not gold provided stability. So, after announcing the sale in advance, thus driving down the price of gold, Brown achieved a remarkably small price for a large slice of the nation's treasure. With the proceeds he bought bits of paper, mainly Euro's. Brown had passed 'Go'.

It is of course difficult to think of a single thing on which Brown was correct, but allied to his own limited abilities was the fact that he based everything around a misguided ideology. Reality had to fit around what he thought should happen. Which is why gold stands at $1,777 an ounce and the Eurozone looks like a game of Monopoly and Brown says nothing in public, just sitting at home in a chair, I should imagine, rocking back and forth saying 'I'm right you know, I'm right'.

In 1847 Ignaz Semmelweiss told surgeons in Vienna that they should wash their hands before treating patients. They were outraged. This had never been forced on them before and they could see no reason to do it now. While the experiment lasted though, mortality rates dropped like a stone. But they still got rid of the upstart. Ideology rules.

For people who would have been hippies in the 1960's, the idea that humans are destroying the planet is a powerful and beautiful idea (most forcefully displayed in all its stupid inelegance, in the monster waste of time and effort that is the film Avatar).It didn't matter if it was true or not, it fitted want they wanted to believe, their prejudices. It was an ideology. The irony is though, that they think humans can solve the planet's ills. Some even believe that we should use our technology to actually change the world's weather, to counter the affects their ideology (and nothing much else) tells them we are causing.

Ideology has the (usually quite well off, Western) hero wistfully observing, maybe from a train whilst enjoying a slice of Black Forest gateau, a peasant in a paddy field, bent over pushing rice plants into the ground, ankle deep in muddy water. Here, our sated saint feels, is the 'noble peasant' asking for nothing more than a small plot on which to grow a meagre supply of rice to feed his family. He has honour in the way his toil provides for his family.

The peasant of course, glances up as the train clatters by and answers 'piss off you bastard, this is back breaking work that barely keeps us alive. I want what you have'.