IDEOLOGY 287

Those who debate the respective virtues and vices of capitalism and
communismx (or, for that matter, of democracy and dictatorship, Chris-
tianity and Buddhism, niraiism and urbanism, etc.) invariably overlook
the point that neither system of organization is actually based* upon uni-
versal realities; there is nothing in the nature of man that either precludes
or insures the effective operation of either of these systems. Which of
them, if either, will function effectively depends' entirely upon social
facts. In terms of universal facts, Marxian ideology is a fiction; when
Marx described his Utopian society, nothing of the sort existed. But the
Russians endeavored after 1917 to develop the sort of society that Marx
described as the "inevitable product of historical forces"; and to the
limited extent that they were successful, they made the Marxian ideology
socially valid for them for the time. Conversely, capitalistic ideology was
generally valid for England and for some other Western countries during
the nineteenth century. Of late, however, the staunchest advocates of
capitalism have been doing their utmost, albeit unwittingly, perhaps, to
destroy the very things that in the past gave this ideology some social
validity.

The effectiveness of social facts can perhaps be more clearly seen in
the ideology of white supremacy. It is biologically impossible for two
white-skinned parents to produce a black baby, no matter how many
Negro ancestors there are in their family trees. Nonetheless, the black-
baby myth has probably been just as strong a deterrent to white-mulatto
marriages as it would be were it a universal fact. Thus by acting upon the
basis of this belief, men have made it socially valid. Scientists can find
no evidence whatever to support the belief that there is an Aryan race,
distinct from and superior to other races; but the ideology of which this
belief is an element has nonetheless played a vital role in the recent history
of the German nation. That there is a special reward in heaven for those
who die on the field of battle is beyond verification; but the belief in a
special reward is a social fact of considerable importance in the military
history of many peoples. In recent times thousands of Japanese who might
otherwise have saved themselves by surrendering died because the
heavenly reward was to them a reality.

The Functions of Ideologies.—hs was indicated earlier, no consistent
relationship exists between ideology and action. The man who accepts
the ideology of white supremacy does not necessarily adhere to all the
overt rituals of that ideology, keeping the Negro in his place in fact as

1 See, for example, W. N. Lxracks and J. W. Hoot, Comparative Economic Sys-
tems: Capitalism, Socialism, CoTmrnmism, Fascism, Cooperation (Harper, New York,
1938); T. W. Arnold, The Folklore of Capitalism (Yale University Press, New
Haven, 1937); C. E. Ayres, The Theory of Economic Progress (University of North
Carolina Press, Chapel*Hill, 1944); and E. W. Swanson and E, P. Schmidt, Econownc
Stagnation or Progress (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1946).