Ideology means a set of ideas or beliefs. People use ideology to understand the world. Ideology shapes how people think about society, politics, and life. Different groups have different ideologies. Each ideology gives people a way to see what is right or wrong. Each ideology also gives people a way to decide what actions to take.
The Relationship Between Ideology and Local Context
Ideology means a set of beliefs or ideas that shape how people see the world. Local context means the specific place where people live and work. Each place includes a unique culture, history, social groups, societal norms, and lifestyles. Ideology and local context are closely related. The local context influences how people understand and use their beliefs. At the same time, ideology shapes how people act within their local context.
How Local Context Must Guide Sustainable Design
People living in different places have different experiences. These experiences affect their beliefs and values. These local features create a shared, often fixed way of thinking. People learn ideas from their neighbors, local media, and institutions. These ideas form the local ideology. When designing sustainable programs, it is easy to insert one’s own ideology. This must be avoided since it will always fail.
Why Local Context Is More Important
Ideology shapes how people live and behave in their communities. Personal beliefs are derived from cultural norms. The local context directly affects how they organize groups, make decisions, and solve problems. Local laws, societal norms, and organizations reflect the dominant ideology.
This ideology guides what people consider right or wrong. It also influences how people respond to change or new ideas. Someone who did not grow up within the local context is literally incapable of experiencing the local context in the same way.
The Dynamic Interaction
The connection between ideology and local context is relevant. It is natural for people to examine things from a personal perspective. It can be challenging to understand the thought process and ideas of concepts foreign to the sustainable designer.
The local context shapes the ideology for the program design process, and ideology shapes the local context for program implementation, determining the success or failure of sustainable initiatives.
This dynamic affects politics, social behavior, and community life. It can explain why people in different places hold different societal views. The integrated nature of ideology and the local context also explains why many programs or policies work well in some places but not in others. It is also why programs created from a distant, centralized authority, will inevitably fail.
Why Understanding This Connection Matters
Understanding the link between ideology and local context helps both program designers and policymakers. It shows the importance of ignoring one’s own ideas and focusing instead on the local context to fit local beliefs and culture.
Ignoring the local context and inherent, localized ideology, will lead to programs that fail and cause conflict and societal disruption. Respecting, adapting to, and integrating the local ideology helps build trust and cooperation. It also improves the chances of success for social and political initiatives.
How Prejudice Affects Program Design
When people design a program, their personal prejudices will likely shape their choices. Again, it is perfectly natural for people to examine everything first from their personal perspective. People may choose goals, methods, or tools based on their beliefs and preconceived notions.
Sometimes, people do not look at all the facts. People may ignore ideas that do not fit their beliefs. This can be further exacerbated through cognitive bias and cognitive dissonance. That means people will believe what they want to believe. It also means people tend to ignore things they do not want to believe.
This can lead to problems. The program may not meet the real needs of the people it should help. The program may also leave out important voices or ideas. Such a scenario, as noted, will only lead to program failure, conflict, and societal disruption.
The practice of critical thinking may be applied to help in overcoming personal prejudice and the exhibition of bias. In this way, the designer can proceed with the sustainable program design in a way that does not force their beliefs on others.
How Ideology Affects Program Implementation
When people design and run a program, their ideology can shape their actions. People may follow rules or steps that match their beliefs. People may not listen to feedback that does not fit their view. This can create gaps between the program and the real world.
The program will not work well in practice. People may also feel left out or ignored. This problem is resolved by involving local leadership at the local level.
Even if there are social, political, or even ideological differences within the community, local populations will still trust other local residents more than they trust outsiders. An outsider attempting to instill their own beliefs comes across in the same way as stepping between brothers who are fighting.
The brothers will stop fighting when you step in. In reality, they only stop fighting long enough to get you out of the picture, then they go right back to fighting. In sustainable program implementation, a lack of understanding of the local ideology and the local context will foster resentment and lead to program failure. Using local leaders and local people to run local programs is the best solution.
How Ideology Affects Program Results
Ideology will shape how people measure success. People will look for results that match their beliefs. People will ignore results that do not fit their view. Welcome to reality. Sustainable programs must align with the local context, local ideology, and provide tangible results to local populations.
Failing to provide these results will give a false picture of what the program has done. It will hide problems that need to be fixed. The program may look good on paper, but it may not help people in real life. Working within the local context, using local people who share the same ideology is the only viable path for sustainable program design and to achieve systemically sustainable human growth and development.