With a clear focus on student needs, David Hawkes traces the history of the term and the debates which surround it, from Machiavelli to the present day.

This new revised edition includes an updated bibliography, a new glossary and index and fresh suggestions for further reading, as well as a discussion of ideology after September 11.

Ideology:
*traces the history of the term and the debates which surround it, from Machiavelli to the present day
*asks why ideology matters
*examines ideology within the critical frameworks of empiricism, idealism, Marxism, post-Marxism and postmodernism.
With plenty of clear examples to illuminate the discussion, Ideology offers an accessible introduction to this controversial and widely debated critical concept.