Ideology vs utopia: old contradictions and new conflicts in modern societies

Modern sociology offers several interpretations for the concept of ideology. For orthodox Marxist thinkers, ideology is a system of concepts introduced into public consciousness by the state ideological apparatus. For others it is a false consciousness that drives the masses away from the struggle for their rights. Still another interpretation implies that ideology is an instrument necessary to control the masses in the interests of the ruling class. Recalling the regulatory role of ideology in the Soviet society, some Russian politicians propose to work out an effective unifying ideology for modern Russian society. But is such ideology possible in societies permeated by new communicative technologies? To answer this question, it is necessary to understand the mental basis of modern societies and the reflection of its evolution in sociological theory. It is not only the ideas that matter, but the environment into which they are planted. The environment is governed by common sense and resentiment. In modern societies characterized by the overproduction of information and ideas, variegating ideologies with a claim to systemic, holistic understanding of reality run against continuous discourses operating short emotionally loaded texts, memes and imagery. The discourse has a capability to easily toss various elements making out of them more effective tools to impact mass consciousness. They dispose of more mobilizing power than traditional systemic ideologies such as liberalism or communism.