Chapter 1: Preliminary Approach to the Problem

The sociological Concept of thought: In the opening paragraph, Mannheim states that the purpose of the book is to investigate the problem of how men actually think, how this thinking process affects public life, and how it is implemented in politics as "an instrument of collective action." Mankind tends to allow their interpretations of truth to affect their actions even though, their methods of knowing may be flawed or their perspectives may be biased. "The principal thesis of the sociology of knowledge is that there are modes of thought which cannot be adequately understood as long as their social origins are obscured." the modes of rationalization are not solely intrinsic to the individual alone. The sources for our explanations for external phenomena may not come to use directly through sense experience but through other external forces (the readings of a book for example). A sociologist of knowledge does not conduct himself as a philosopher but as an empiricist, he does not find solutions through abstractions but finds concrete obtainable facts through correlations and statistics. The individual does not truly think in a strict sense. "It is more correct to insist that he participates in thinking further what other men have thought before him. He finds himself in an inherited situation with patterns of thought which are appropriate to his situation and attempts to elaborate further the inherited modes of response or to substitute other for them in order to deal more adequately with the challenges which have arisen out of the shifts and changes in his situation." The contemporary Predicament of Thought: Peace and stability exists in the society which inculcates all its members with the same life experiences and the same life chances. Those who share a common existence, common means of rationalization and of interpreting phenomena, will not notice any small change in governing paradigm of thought and interpretation. Mannheim claims that it is "Primarily the intensification of social mobility that destroys the earlier illusion in such a static society....that thought remains eternally the same." The appearance of social mobility into a social structure allows divergent interests and viewpoints to intersect and converge, shattering traditional or conservative thought. "Horizontal mobility (movement from one position to another or from one country to another without changing social status) shows us that different peoples think differently. As long as the traditions of one's national and local group remain unbroken, one remains so attached to its customary ways of thinking that the ways of thinking which are perceived in other groups are regarded as curiosities, errors, ambiguities, or heresies.(essentially, the habits and customs of another group are regarded as being strange and weird). At this stage one does not doubt either the correctness of one's own tradition of thought or the unity and uniformity of thought in general. Only when horizontal mobility is accompanied by intensive vertical mobility, rapid movement between strata, (in the sense of social

ascent and descent) is the belief in the general and eternal validity of one's own thought-forms shaken." The decisive change in group relations occurred when historical development caused previously isolated strata to communicate more rapidly. The most significant form of this exchange is reached when forms of thought and experience which had previously developed independently along their class lines, enters into the same consciousness showing clearly the conflicting perspectives. For as long as the upper and dominant class maintains control of society on the basis of authority, the class structure is not questioned. It is only through the process of democratization does the thinking of the lower strata being to matter. Mannheim clarifies his sociological terms. He says that in every society there are social groups whose task it is to provide an interpretation of the worldview for that society. Those members are to be called the "intelligentsia." The more static the society, the more likely it is that that stratum will acquire a prestigious position. The medieval clergy who kept a monopoly on knowledge during the middle ages were the intelligentsia of that age and henceforth, molded the worldview of the successive generations. In the modern age in which social mobility is fluid, the caste system is broken; a free intelligentsia has arisen fostering a new age of epistemic reasoning. The Origin of the modern Epistemological, psychological, and sociological points of view: From an objectified and dogmatic view of the world, to a perception and interpretation of the world that displaced the presuppositions of theisms and of God's relevance to the natural order (the era of empiricism) , we come to our current situation in which we have founded the notion of that certain ideas are "ideologically" constructed in the individuals' personal psyche which has led to the development of the field of psychology. In the successive passages, Mannheim argues for a type of scientific conduct and inquiry which is more refined than the other lines of reasoning. The two opposing viewpoints he dissects are the mechanical or empirical view, in which things are viewed as objects unto themselves that can be understood independently and the genetic approach (the assessment of all those factors that led to a persons' current mental and physical state). The Genetic approach to finding out historic or sociological phenomena, he says, is limited in that it likewise regards things independently. One would investigate an individual in history as if he were alone; it ignores the social phenomena that acts on the individual and ignores the fact that the individuals' actions would be a reaction to their historical climate. "frequently, the observer loses sight of the role society has in the molding of the individual to the extent that he derives most of the traits, which are evidently only possible as the result of a common life and the interaction between individuals, from the original nature of the individual." He criticizes these views on the basis that they do not capture the richness of the individual's life in relation to others. The individual's capabilities are limited. In his search for truth, he most likely accepts those notions of truth value which already exist. "It is much more correct to say that knowledge is from the very beginning a cooperative process of group life, in which everyone unfolds his knowledge within the framework of a common fate, a common activity and the overcoming of common difficulties."

Control of the Collective Conscious: a Problem of our age "The absolute state, by claiming as one of its prerogatives the setting forth of its own interpretations of the world, took a step which later on with the democratization of society tended more and more to set a precedent. It showed that politics was able to use its conception of the world as a weapon and that politics was not merely a struggle for power but really first became fundamentally significant only when it infused its aims with a kind of political philosophy, with a political conception of the world."Mannheim warns that the political parties of the modern era (the 1930s) incorporate rational and scientific arguments into their systems of thought and attribute much more importance to them. Every form of political conduct was guided less on philosophical musing or on the Church's concept of ethics and morality (the state has be secularized, the church is no longer the commander of the state and does not impinge in its affairs). But these scientific bases for political thought and consequently, political action, were loosely based on observed phenomena. (On a more positive note, his integration of pseudoscientific claims to back government policy aided in the diffusion of scientifically based rational ideas into the public sphere.) A problem that arises from this integration of science and state is that "thinking which is dominated by a political attitude cannot allow itself to be continuously readapted to new experiences. Political parties, because of the very fact of their being organized, can neither maintain an elasticity in their methods of thought nor be ready to accept any answer that might come out of their inquires. They are akin to public corporations and fighting organizations. This led politics towards a dogmatic direction similar to that of the Medieval clergy. Political discussion also possess a different character than purely academic discussion. It seeks to be correct and to demolish the basis of its opponent's intellectual existence as well. "Political conflict, since it is from the very beginning a rationalized form of the struggle for social predominance, attacks the social status of the opponent, his public prestige, and his self-confidence." The concept of ideology reflects the notion that the ruling group or the dominant political party that governs a nation, can in their thinking become so intensively interest-bound to a situation that they are no longer capable of seeing certain facts which would undermine their sense of domination. The concept of utopian thinking reflects the notion that oppressed groups are intellectually so strongly interested in the destruction and transformation of a given condition of society that they blindly negate all conditions and situations which would falsify their beliefs. "In the utopian mentality, the collective unconscious hides aspect of reality." Mannheim says that in the modern era, the ability to unmask those hidden semi-conscious interests that guide our paths has become widely available. When all parties collide and unmask each other's motives for retaining a political ideology, man's confidence in thought begins to wan. This process of denunciation of reciprocal beliefs led to the crisis and collapse of the Middle Ages school of thought. This gradual chiseling at man's faith in thoughts and ideas is accompanied by the disappearance of a unified intellectual world with fixed values and norms and the sudden surge of unconscious motives and interests into the light. This is the primary factor in the fragmentation and destabilization of nations and people.

On the manner in which the social scientist should conduct himself and his research: "man attains objectivity and acquires a self with reference to his conception of his world not by giving up his will to action and holding his evaluations in abeyance, but in confronting and examining himself. The criterion of such self-illumination is that only the object but we ourselves fall squarely within our field of vision....The opportunity for relative emancipation from social determination increases proportionately with insight into this determination." We are all bias in our notions and ideas as they are related to the historical age in which we live. No line of thought is independent, knowledge is social. The person who claims to be free and to know of freedom is blinded by his utopian sight. In order to gain new insights into our social selves we must 1)engage ourselves in self-criticism of collective unconscious motivation that blind our inquiry 2) develop s new type of intellectualism that interprets changes of ideas in relation to socio-historical processes 3) integrate the social nature of thought into our epistemic deductions. To study the sociology of knowledge is to "systematize doubt."

Chapter 2: Ideology and Utopia

The purpose of this section is to examine the changes in the conception of Ideology and to show that these shifts are tied to social and historical advancements. Definition of Concepts Mannheim claims that a thorough analysis of the different forms of ideology (not exclusively Marx's concept of Ideology which he says was commonly accepted as the only form of ideology) would yield two distinctive types of ideology- the particular and the total. The particular conception of ideology is used to dictate those semiconscious lies we employ on an individual basis in order to hide an unsavory truth from ourselves. The total or more inclusive form of ideology is that ideology which forms the basis of thought in a historical epoch. It is the ideological notions that guide an age or a class within a particular period in history. If we were to confine ourselves to a singular investigation of one form of ideology, we couldn't possibly grasp the totality of the intellectual world belonging to a social group in a given historical situation. "The individual can only be considered as the bearer of an ideology as long as we deal with that conception of ideology which, by definition, is directed more to detached contents than to the whole structure of thought, uncovering false ways of thought and exposing lies. As soon as the total conception of ideology is used, we attempt to reconstruct the whole outlook of a social group, and neither the concrete individuals nor the abstract sum of them can legitimately be considered the bearers of this ideological thought system as a whole. The aim of this analysis on this level is the reconstruction of the systematic theoretical basis underlying the single judgments of the individual." The Concept of Ideology in Historical Perspective

The process of recognizing the ideologies of individuals has gone through a historical development. We begin to discern a person's ideology only when "we begin to treat our adversary's views as calculated lies and when we sense in his total behavior an unreliability which we regard as a function of the social situation in which one finds himself." Bacon's theory of "idola" may be seen as a forerunner for the current definition of ideology. The following is a quote by him. "The idols and false notions which have already preoccupied the human understanding and are deeply rooted in it, not only so best men's minds that they became difficult to access, but even when access is obtained will again meet, and trouble us in the instauration of the sciences, unless mankind when forewarned guard themselves with all possible care against them."--Bacon Another historical development in man's awareness of ideology may have come from experience within political affairs and man's first critical assessment of the ideological element in his opponents' thinking. Machiavelli for instance, made it his task to relate the variations in men's opinions to the corresponding variations in interests. The point Mannheim clearly draws here is that the conception of ideology is related partially to the development of the school of psychology in which mankind begins to approach and investigate the relations between people's thoughts and the apparent truth. From the Particular to the Total Conception of Ideology "Only in a world in upheaval, in which fundamental new values are being created and old ones destroyed ,can intellectual conflict go so far that antagonists seek to annihilate not merely the specific beliefs and attitudes of another, but also the intellectual foundations upon which these beliefs and attitudes rest." As diverging world views arise, naive distrust of opposites views is transformed in time into a systematic particular notion of ideology which remains grounded on singular basis, on a psychological level. As the process continues, it extends to the epistemological sphere. The rising bourgeoisie mentality brought a new set of values that grew out of such seeds to replace the existent social and economic order. This new system came with it, a new dominant ideology and displaced the former with its own modes of explaining the world. During the 1930s, it may have been apparent to Mannheim that another revolution of values was taking place between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Mannheim then details the historical processes that have led to this new social epoch. Our modes of rationalization have shifted from a fictional unity of a timeless unchanging consciousness to a conception of consciousness which varies in accordance with historical periods, nations, and social classes. Two results of this discovery are: 1) we perceive human affairs as things which cannot be understood by an isolation of their elements 2) the interpretation of meanings and objects will vary from one historical period to another; science is never exact. Objectivity and Bias

In this portion, Mannheim traces the lineage of the term ideology. He finds it was used by Napoleon first as a derogatory reference to his detractors who opposed his imperialist ambitions. Over time, the term was relieved of its derisive nature and began to circulate in wide usage. He says Marx was the first to capture its significance and approach the subject of ideology must accurately. Marx equated the evaluation of ideologies with a comparison to a man's economic profession. his ideological notions would be influenced by his economic standpoint, this being determined by his profession. Henceforth, this method of analysis became the primary means of rendering ideology. The intellectuals, Weber, Sombart, and Troeltsch departed from this notion and helped steer the study of ideology in the direction it is today. The Transition from the Theory of Ideology to the Sociology of Knowledge Mannheim criticizes relativism and refers to it as a transitory period of understanding and interpretation that is in no way bound to epistemology. "A modern theory of knowledge which takes account of the relational as distinct from the merely relative character of all historical knowledge must start with the assumption that there are spheres of thought in which it is impossible to conceive of absolute truth existing independently of the values and position of the subject and unrelated to the social context." Human thought operates not within a vacuum but in a definite and objective category of social milieu. "The task of a study of ideology which seeks to be value-free, is to understand the narrowness of each individual point of view and the interplay between these distinctive attitudes in the total social process." This type of rational inquiry is new to the scene. Only in recent times has it been made possible to investigate the hypothesis that human epistemic history is determined by the interplay of social elements; The dominant modes of thought being supplanted by new forms when the characteristic modes of rationalization of that class disintegrates and are then replaced with another. The Non-Evaluative Conception of Ideology "We realize once and for all that the meanings which make up our world are simply an historically determined and continuously developing structure in which man develops and are in no sense absolute." We must seek to avoid relativism. Relationism is the more logical approach in which all the elements of meaning in a given situation have reference to one another and derive their significance from a reciprocal relationship between members within the framework of a given thought structure. The mode of thought that the investigator partakes in is also influence by such a relationship and thusly the results of analysis will never be absolute. Ontological Judgments Implicit in the Non-Evaluative Conception of Ideology Mannheim discusses his theory on how to properly analysis history. "The study of intellectual history can and must be pursued in a manner which will see in the sequence and co-existence of phenomena more than mere accidental relationship, and will seek to discover in the totality of the historical complex the role, significance, and meaning of each component element." The Quest for Reality through Ideology and Utopian Analysis

"If the investigator would incorporate into his vision each contradictory and conflicting current, his thought would be flexible and dialectical, rather than rigid and dogmatic." facts to the sociologist are difficult to comprehend for they exist and are determined in an intellectual and social context. Our awareness of this fact precipitates the existence of a conceptual framework, and if this "conceptual apparatus is the same for all members of a group, the presuppositions which underlie the individual concepts never become perceptible." The social researcher must always be aware of the limited scope of their views if they wish to see the whole picture.

Chapter 3: The Prospects of Scientific Politics: the Relationship Between Social Theory and Political Practice
Why is There No Science of Politics? The difficulties of assimilating a body of scientific study of politics is that in the realm of politics, we deal with tendencies and strivings between people that are always in a constant state of flux. Another issue with political science is that the scientist is a participant in this realm of irrational conflicting forces. The biggest issue though is in regards to the fact that the political scientist's mode of thought is bound by the general political social currents. "Hence it is our task definitively to establish the thesis that in politics the statement of a problem and the logical techniques involved vary with the political position of the observer." The Political and Social Determinants of Knowledge The following analysis will be dedicated to showing the relation between political theories and its actual practice. We shall devote this analysis to the primary political ideologies of our age. The most representative ideal-types of political thought in the modern era are: Bureaucratic conservatism Conservative historicism Liberal-Democratic Bourgeois thought Socialist-Communist Conception Fascism

Bureaucratic conservatism The fundamental tendency of all bureaucratic thought is to turn over all political problems to the administration. This is because a state run by a bureaucratic strain of thought has already handed over all authority to the officials whose job it is to preserve the laws the society has formulated. "The [bureaucrat] fails to see that behind every law that has been made there lie the socially fashioned interests and the consciousness of a specific social group. The official takes it for granted that the specific order prescribed by a concrete law is equivalent to order in general. He does not understand that every rationalized order is only one of many within which socially conflicting irrational forces are

reconciled." A bureaucratic mind sees political upheaval as a mere disturbance within a usually stable society. When faced with crisis, the juristic administrative mentality recoils in its dependence on laws and order. It is faced with the paradoxical duty of forming new laws but typically does so only within the existing frame of thought. Those operating under a bureaucratic mind tend to generalize experience and overlook the fact that administration is only a part of the total political reality. The Ideology of the Bureaucratic state makes it more likely to see political science as the science of administration. Historical Conservatism "Historical conservatism is characterized by the fact that it is aware of that irrational realm of the life of the state which cannot be managed by administration alone." It notices the incalculable realm within politics. The historical conservative theory was developed from an integration of bureaucratic thought and feudal tradition, it is the self-conscious version of feudal rule. This strain of thought it primarily concerned with problems that transcend the sphere of administration. This mode of thought is the type of ideology of political groups which have "traditionally occupied a dominant position." It exists now in Germany and in other states with a feudal history and tradition. Liberal Bourgeoisie Liberal-democratic- Bourgeois strain was developed out of a deep intellectualism. It led to a mode of thought that does not see the elements in life and in thought which are based on will, interest, emotion, and conscious; if it does recognize it, it treats them as though these traits have been made subordinate to reason and logic. This form of political thought led to the sanctioning of free competition and the class struggle. It thusly created a new irrational realm of competition and strife. The ideology of the liberal-democratic- Bourgeois serves to blur the distinction between rational and irrational forms of conduct by merging them into a common theater of action, the marketplace (it is here that rational and irrational behavior collide, they are no longer distinguishable from each other). This state exists in most democratic societies like America. Communism/Socialist "In the struggle with its bourgeois opponent, Marxism discovered that in historical and political matters there can be no 'pure theory.' This strain of thought sees that behind every theory there lies collective points of view." Marx used the concept of ideology to refer to the phenomenon of collective thinking which Marx believed proceeded according to personal interests and social and existential situations. The following is the Communist theory of becoming: Progressive theory arising out a social impulse clarifies a given situation; consequently through this process of clarification, reality undergoes a change. People can only influence the general trend in this process of becoming, until communism is realized. The process goes as follows: 1) Progressive theory is a function of reality and is natural 2) This theory leads to a form of action 3) action changes the reality or forces us to revise the previous theory. Marxist thought is akin to conservative historicism strain of thought in that it does not deny the existence of an irrational sphere and does not try to conceal it like the bureaucrat. It also does not treat

it in a purely intellectual fashion as the liberal-democrat. A difference lies though in the fact that it regards the irrational conduct of men to be measurable and understandable. When new elements in historical development emerge they do not constitute a chain of unexpected events. The task of the Marxist politician is to analysis the rationalization of those tendencies which influence the character of the situation. Marx elaborates on his political science in the basic points 1) The political life of the society is dictated by the state of productive relations which are to be regarded not as being static, but dynamic 2) The economy is tied to the class relations. 3) this structure and system of ideas dominating men can be understood at any historical interval; this helps in determining which way the state will head and what changes are necessary 4) there is an interconnection between the economy, the social being, and the governing ideology. The Marxist strain derived insight from the apparent irrationalism; that the historical political sphere is not composed of lifeless objects to be examined and that therefore, a method which merely seeks objective and concrete laws to address all issues from now until forever will ultimately fail. Fascism "At the very heart of its theory and its practice lies the apotheosis of direct action, the belief in the decisive deed, and in the significance attributed to the initiative of a leading elite. The essence of politics is to recognize and to grapple with the demands of the hour." History is made not by masses or by workers but by elites. Fascist thought is focused purely in the irrational spectrum, it doesn't even conceive it possible to assess history. Fascists disregard history but they share in common with their contemporary ideologies the belief that history is made up of intelligible interrelations. The concept of "the deed" causes the need of history to fade; the deed is the cause of history and becomes more significant. "Fascism regards interpretation of history as a mere fictive construction destined to disappear before the deed of the moment." The Fascist leader still calls upon the ideologies of the past to appeal to the public. They serve as "derivations" in Pareto's usage which stimulate enthusiastic feelings and set in motion irrational "residues" in men and are the only forces that lead to political activity. The leader though is emancipated from these idyllic notions of a historical past. "We have created a myth. This myth is a faith, a noble enthusiasm. It does not have to be a reality, it is an impulse and a hope, belief, and courage. Our myth is the nation." --Mussolini When historical facts are disregarded, all that remains at the forefront is the exploration of those regularities which are the same for all men and for all times. The knowledge of social psychology is indispensible to a fascist leader. The fascist conceives of knowledge and rationalization as being secondary and relatively insignificant to "the deed." Politics in a fascist state focuses on action, not ideas. Fascism seeks to annihilate intellectualism. "It does this in a twofold manner: first by destroying all the 'illusions' which make us see history as a process; and secondly by reckoning with and observing the mass-mind" especially its desires and wants. A control and manipulation of these elements leads to a successful fascist state.

Machiavelli laid down the fascist central tenants. The concept of virtu' is a precursor to the concept of the great leader. Machiavelli's disillusioning realism destroys idols; constant recourse to psychological manipulation becomes the condition of the stable fascist state. Finally, history is denied and "the deed" usurps its legacy. the fascist concept of the elite leader in contrast to the despicable masses entails an ideology counter to the claims that a leader is an organ of the state whose duty it is to represent the interests of the entire social strata. The elites within the fascist regime do not seek to reform or preserve the prevailing structure or appeal to the sentiments of the masses. Their concern is primarily to replace the existing elite with another elite. For those members of the elite class, history becomes a circulation of elites whist for the masses, it is the transformation of the historical-social structure. "There are periods in time when class relations and stratification become distorted. In such periods, it is easy for transitory formations to emerge and the mass comes into existence, individuals having lost or forgotten their class orientations. At times like these, dictatorships become possible. The fascist view of history and its intuitional approach which serves as a preparation for immediate action have changed what was once no more than a partial situation into a total view of society." Synthesis of the various Perspectives as a Problem of Political Sociology If political sciences cannot be analyzed without departing from the political ideologies to which we are all subjected, then a concise scientific field of study in politics would be impossible; it would be subject to partisanship. " only when the necessary partisan character of every form of political knowledge is recognized and also the peculiar character of each variety. It has become clear today that all knowledge which is either political or which involves a world-view is inevitably partisan; knowledge is fragmentary. But this implies the possibility of an integration of many mutually complementary points of view into a comprehensive whole." The present era allows a penetrative gaze to infiltrate political science so that it is viewed as a comprehensive unit instead of a party science. Political science exists in a realm of thought which is dynamic and must be reformulated from time to time. The Sociological Problem of the Intelligentsia "Although they are too differentiated to be regarded as a single class, there is one unifying sociological bond between all groups of intellectuals, education. Participation in a common educational heritage progressively tend to suppress differences of birth, status, profession, and wealth, and to unite the individuals educated people on the basis of the education they received." Education frees the mind from restrictions and a tendency towards a biased and customary approach to methodology. The person who is not educated but participates in the social theater by engaging in the social process of production tends to absorb the consciousness of that group and act under the influence of the conditions imposed on him by merit of his social status. Given (x) sets of interests in a given juncture of events, there will follow (y) types of thinking and (z) total points of view (and interpretations) regarding the social processes. What these specific sets of interests will be depends on the specific set of traditions which in turn depends on the structural determinants of

the social situation. Only he who is able to formulate the problem in such a manner is in a position to understand and comprehend the political stage as a whole. The Nature of Political Knowledge Political science will never be a finished and closed realm of knowledge which can be measured empirically and objectionably, it is in a continuous process of being and becoming. The Communicability of Political Knowledge The theorizing subject would be prone to fallacy should he conceal the fundamental relationships affecting his own actions. Mannheim recommends that the modern political theorist use typologies to detach concepts from their historical moments. Did not read well enough Three Varieties to the Sociology of Knowledge The sociology of knowledge can be approached from several levels of analysis but Mannheim suggests that this one is superior and the most correct: "It is the view that, at the point where what is properly political begins, the evaluative element cannot easily be separated out, at least not in the same degree as is possible in formal sociological thinking and other sorts of purely formalizing knowledge." This is due in part to the fact that political knowledge and its scientific reveal cannot depart from influence of interest and motivation. Political thought is intertwined with the irrational and the rational.

Chapter 4: The Utopian Mentality

:A state of mind is utopian when it is incongruous with the state of reality within which it occurs."