Having started the journey of exploring political ideology in relation to participation, our next step is to examine it in relation to the people it affects – that is to say all of us. So far, the emphasis in expert discussion seems to have been on the nature of ideology – what it is and what it is for – rather than on its social construction and ownership. The restricted scope of the latter either seems to have been seen as in the nature of ideology or taken for granted. It is almost as if it has been regarded as unproblematic for the ownership of ideology as an idea and activity to be narrow. There has been little exploration of the whys and wherefores of this. But this lack of interest in our relationship with political ideology and how much say we do or don't have in it does seem interesting. Is this a wise course of action? Is it really such a good idea to be so disconnected from a concept with such potential power over us?

The fact that discussion about ideology and specific ideologies or ideological approaches has been narrowly based does not seem to have attracted much mainstream comment or attention. How readily would we accept this of any other issue with such dramatic and farreaching implications? Also, at a time when there is so much high profile resistance to attacks on particular groups’ rights and so much interest in broader participation, we have to ask how much longer can we ignore the issue of people's involvement in the development of political ideology – especially when it has so much impact on all of us and people seem increasingly to want to have more say over the policies and politics that affect them? Given its potential importance in our lives we might expect that political ideology would routinely be seen as a priority concern for people. But that does not seem to have been the case.

The implications for us

As soon as we start thinking about ideology, a worrying contradiction quickly becomes apparent. That something potentially as important as ideological perspectives may be something we know little about seems both highly significant and also troubling.