Peloponnesian War. Introduction. Athens and Sparta, both powerful Greek city-states, had fought as allies in the Greco-Persian Wars between 499 and 449 B.C. In the wake of the Persian retreat, however, Athens grew more powerful and tensions rose, escalating into nearly three decades of war.
READING GUIDE TO: the chapter on Rousseau, Althusser L (1972) Politics and History, Part 2, New Left Books: London. Here, Althusser argues that ideology is a theoretical practice, which is locked in a problematic which defines both problems and solutions.
Ideology is a set of aims and ideas. An ideology can be a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things, or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of this society. The main purpose behind an ideology is to offer change in society. Ideology tends to refer to the way in which people think about the world and their ideal concept of how to live in the world. Ideology also may be used to describe the shared beliefs of a group of people. Propaganda is based on an ideology. It does not exist without an ideology. Propaganda is the way to make people aware of ideological belief. An ideology is a set of thoughts and can reach people only through propaganda. Its content could be partly true and partly false. It can survive on its own; probably it would not be as widespread as it would be with propaganda.