Political ideology as a form of manipulation

The publication substantiates the classification of political ideology as a type of social manipulation. A distinction is made between political ideology and political course. The paper reveals components of political ideology, such as the emotional component, ethical assessments, axiomatics, dogmatics, stereotypes, rational persuasion due to logical techniques and inferences. The fact of the limited cognitive potential of any political ideology is stated, which is associated with the closedness of the conceptual apparatus and the locality of the research field, from which the idea of the impossibility of ideology to act as an epistemological tool is derived. Combining the essential features of political ideology with the concept of manipulation as a type of suggestive communication, which involves exerting such a hidden influence on the object of influence, during which the latter performs actions in the interests of the manipulator, although he believes that he is benefiting himself, the author establishes an identity between political ideology and manipulation. The article notes that ideology as inferior, limited by itself, its categorical apparatus, and a biased picture of the world, unable to act as a tool for achieving adequate and multifaceted ideas about the surrounding social space, is presented by its missionaries as an expression of truth, while the consolidation of those led by some or the ideology of citizens or social groups ultimately serves the interests of a narrow circle of beneficiaries associated with obtaining resource control or acquiring powers of authority. Finally, the author concludes that a realistic view of the nature and purpose of ideology as a type of political and social manipulation does not entail the requirement to remove the ideological component from social relations.