The End of Ideology
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The End of Ideology: On the Exhaustion of Political Ideas in the Fifties is a book by Daniel Bell, first published in 1960. Bell suggests that the older humanistic ideologies derived from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are exhausted, and that new parochial ideologies will soon arise.
[edit] Theory
A variety of theories have emerged, even before Daniel Bell's work. Karl Marx, using work from Friedrich Hegel, stated that once a state progressed from socialism, a classless society would emerge, rendering ideology irreverent. Daniel Bell, in the 1950's, overtook Robert Putnam as the standard-bearer for the theory. This is not to say Burnham's thesis was similar, he believed a state of technocrats would emerge, all knowing the right answer, making ideology extinct. No doubt, this theory, as well as deviations have received heavy criticism, especially from Islamic fundamentalists.
