y ideological. The dominant ideology always holds that advancement for society as a whole is of the utmost importance because ideology and society are mutually reinforcing entities. Ideology seeks to instill respect for society-at-large in order to establish social control, which is necessary to instill ideology. Too much individual determination would cause a fragmentation of society, so that a dominant ideology could not be instilled in citizen-subjects. Another reason why the dominant ideology always strives to preserve existing power relationships is because the ideology is largely shaped and controlled by those at the top of the power structure. Those at the top have the most to lose if power relationships are overhauled. Many philosophers have questioned how free our will actually is. Modern science would have us be no more than an accumulation of genetic material, and/or a “personality” shaped in response to external stimuli. Both options seem to leave little choice for free will. When one also considers the disparity in socioeconomic factors faced by people in different neighborhoods, and how one is ideologically shaped by one’s surroundings, it seems that complete freedom of will must be an illusion. A major reason why the ideology of free will exerts such a stranglehold on American thought is because it is essential to our system of reward and punishment, which would otherwise seem chaotic and meaningless. Thus, the ideology of “good and bad” and “free will” serve to regulate the beliefs and activities of American citizens, as well as to generalize between certain classes, such as cops and criminals. Such ideological concepts are not based upon some sort of inherent preexisting “truth.” Rather, they are the cultural coordinates by which we plot our lives. They give meaning and purpose to our lives, but they may also be limiting and work to disparage certain pe...
