A political myth is an ideological narrative that is believed by social groups.
Definition
In 1975, Henry Tudor defined it in the book ''Political Myth''. He said that myths are believed to be true even if they may be false, and they are devices with dramatic constructions used "in order to come to grips with reality". Political myths simply deal with political topics and always use a group of people as the hero or
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
. In 2001, Christopher G. Flood described a working definition of a political myth as "an ideologically marked narrative which purports to give a true account of a set of past, present, or predicted political events and which is accepted as valid in its essentials by a social group".
In 1946,
Ernst Cassirer
Ernst Alfred Cassirer ( ; ; July 28, 1874 – April 13, 1945) was a German philosopher and historian of philosophy. Trained within the Neo-Kantian Marburg School, he initially followed his mentor Hermann Cohen in attempting to supply an idealistic ...
recounted political theory in his ''The Myth of the State''.
In 1973, T. L. Thorson wrote in the 4th edition of ''
A History of Political Theory'': "It is the mark of a modern mind to be able to explicitly create a 'myth' as a way of influencing others (as, for example,
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
does in ''
The Republic''). In its original sense myth is a literal description."
Function
According to Tudor, what recasts myth as
political
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
in nature is its subject matter,
that being politics. In order for a political narrative to be recast as myth, the narrative of events must be cast in dramatic form and it must serve a practical argument.
[
Tudor defines ''dramatic form'', stating "there is indeed a critical event by reference to which men can order their present experience but the events in question are thought of as taken place in the past."][ The function of political myth can be better understood when it is broken down into the following components: (1) myth provides the theoretical argument, which is incorporated into an (2) ideology that supports the myth by providing a practical argument.][
Every myth has its protagonist/heroic figure that represents a particular community destined to create a morally coherent world which orients the community's activities towards this end.][
Mythopoeic narratives in political discourse can range from origin stories ( foundation myths) that recount the establishment of a community, to ascribing a political existence to a community based in the future (often a utopic vision), to restoring a political community that has ceased to exist.
Although, both myth and ideology carry certain values and beliefs, ]ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
provides a practical argument rooted in rendering the community's past experiences as coherent, allowing them to make sense of their present circumstances and often, as a result, providing communities with objectives for future activities. A myth is considered a ''political myth'' when the narrative provides an ideologically marked account of the past, present, and future of the political community. By ''ideologically marked'', the narrative carries "assumptions, values, and goals associated with a specific ideology… that conveys an implicit invitation to assent to a particular ideological standpoint."[
In short, political myths offer "an account of the past and the future in the light of which the present can be understood."][ A political myth's success is dependent on the practical argument being accepted as true.][
]
Examples
Examples cited as political myths include Manifest Destiny
Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...
, The Clash of Civilizations, and national myth
A national myth is an inspiring narrative or anecdote about a nation's past. Such myths often serve as important national symbols and affirm a set of national values. A myth is entirely ficticious but it is often mixture with aspects of histori ...
s.
See also
* Georges Sorel
* Communist symbolism
*Civil religion
Civil religion, also referred to as a civic religion, is the implicit religious values of a nation, as expressed through public rituals, symbols (such as the national flag), and ceremonies on sacred days and at sacred places (such as monuments, bat ...
*Founding myth
An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place a ...
* Habsburg myth
*National symbol
A national symbol is a manifestation of a nation or community, serving as a representation of their National identity, identity and values. National symbols may be not only applied to sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of ...
*Noble lie
In Plato's ''Republic'', the concept of a noble lie is a myth or a lie in a society that either emerges on its own or is propagated by an elite in order to maintain social order or for the "greater good". Descriptions of it date back as early a ...
*Political religion
A secular religion is a communal belief system that often rejects or neglects the metaphysical aspects of the supernatural, commonly associated with traditional religion, instead placing typical religious qualities in earthly, or material, entitie ...
* Political symbolism
* Socialist heraldry
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Arvidsson, Stefan (2017). ''Style and mythology of socialism: socialist idealism, 1871-1914''. Routledge
* Bottici, Chiara (2007). ''A philosophy of political myth''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
* Keum, Tae-Yeoun (2020). ''Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thought''. Harvard University Press
Ideologies
Myths
Political culture
Social philosophy