Sociological understanding of the subject of ideology in classical and contemporary approaches

Ideology, as a social phenomenon, represents an action-oriented formation of social images and meanings, and implies the existence of its own carrier– the subject of ideology. The study of this subject is a key condition for understanding ideological processes, which determines the relevance of the topic under consideration. The research problem lies in understanding the factors that contribute to the unification of individuals into ideological communities. Approaches to understanding the subject of ideology have been influenced both by conceptions of the social nature of ideology and by societal changes. Based on the analysis of classical (K.Marx, V.Pareto, K.Mannheim, T.Adorno, A.Gramsci) and contemporary approaches (L.Althusser, S.Žižek), the main properties of the collective subject of ideology are examined. Within the context of the research, attention is given to J.Alexander’s concepts regarding groups as carriers of collective meanings, C.G.Jung’s theory of archetypes of the collective unconscious, and R.Barthes’ interpretation of ideology as a form of modern mythology. It is argued that the subject of ideology is a group characterized by a certain position within the social structure and that it constructs an image of social relations from the perspective determined by this position. In this context, ideology serves less as a tool for rational understanding of its own position and setting development or change goals, than as a means of rationalizing deep-seated social emotions, self-assertion, justifying the inevitability of the existing order or the necessity of its transformation. The networking of social space affects both the properties of the ideological subject and the nature of its activity. On the one hand, “network effects” may emerge in producing new outcomes of ideological activity; on the other hand, real social activism is increasingly replaced by virtual activism carried out within social networks.