Ideology as a Relational Effect: 4 Textual Cut: Ideology as Persistence

So far, we have seen how ideology shapes what can be thought (ideational cut) and how it is enacted socially (interpersonal cut). Now we turn to the textual cut — the vulnerability surface where meaning is sustained, coordinated, and made recognisable across time and interaction.

Ideology as enduring pattern

Textual meaning ensures that ideological patterns are not fleeting:

• Recognisability: recurring forms, phrases, or symbolic structures make ideology intelligible across different contexts.

• Coherence: ideological patterns are coordinated so that meanings do not fragment or collapse into inconsistency.

• Durability: repetition and textual structure allow ideological patterns to persist across interactions, communities, and generations.

Ideology, in this frame, is temporal and relational. It is not a fixed system in minds or texts; it is what survives repeated social exposure, circulation, and recognition.

Interaction with value and interpersonal surfaces

Persistence depends on intersection with other cuts and value surfaces:

• Interpersonal meaning exposes ideology to social uptake and sanction, testing whether it can circulate safely.

• Value systems reward, sanction, or align social actors, reinforcing the recognisability of ideological patterns.

• Textual structures ensure that patterns retain coherence as they move across contexts, enabling ideology to survive long-term.

Without textual readiness, ideological patterns decay, even if ideationally thinkable and socially sanctioned. Persistence is what allows ideology to influence social fields consistently over time.

Relational framing

From a cuts perspective:

• Ideational cut: constrains what is thinkable

• Interpersonal cut: enforces uptake, risk, and sanction

• Textual cut: sustains coherence and recognisability

• Value surfaces: structure consequences for alignment or deviation

Ideology is the emergent, relational effect of this multi-cut system: it is the pattern of possibility, risk, and persistence, actualised wherever meaning intersects with social value and textual durability.