Abstract
Avoiding the classical opposition between ideology as false consciousness and the more neutral definition of it as worldview, the present paper investigates three forms of manifestation of the ideological thinking: as an image, representation and practice. These three forms try to reflect the complexity and pervasiveness of the ideological phenomenon, according to a rising level of radicalization.
Ideology is thus rethought as a complex apparatus that not only works in reinforcing the social cohesion inside and between the groups, but also as the original condition from which the sense is produced. This semiosic aspect, beyond the more obvious semiotic nature of any ideology, introduces the dimensions of body and desire in the reflection on the way ideological thinking emerges and circulates in the society.