The End of Ideology Debate Revisited: An Appraisal of Definitional and Theoretical Issues*

This article deals with the definitional legacy of the end of ideology debate and the problem of defuning ideology. The definitional legacy of the debate is described in terms of assumptions about the characteristics and functions of ideology, and several problematic features are identified. A major argument is that certain theoretical difficulties characterizing the debate were the result of viewing various attributes as definitional properties of ideology rather than hypothetical variables. In an effort to overcome the problematic features of the definitional legacy of the debate, the article recommends the construction of a minimal definition of ideology which converts characteristics and Functions often viewed as a priori elements of ideology into an extensive battery of hypothetical variables.