The concept of ideology has been related to economic inequality, state intervention in the economy, party identification, moral values and, more recently, to post-materialist values. It is also argued that the general public has a perception of this concept similar to that of the elites. This article analyses the left-right continuum at the elite and mass levels in five countries, before and after the recent severe financial crisis. It investigates: i) the relative weight of values vs partisanship as the basis of left-right self-placement; ii) whether political elites and citizens share the same factors underpinning ideology; and iii) whether there have been any changes in these factors as a consequence of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The study is a quantitative analysis making use of survey data. Findings indicate that both elites and masses concentrated in moderate positions both before and after the crisis; citizens do not follow elites when explaining left-right self-placement; and the financial crisis has led elites to move toward the right and the public toward the left. Before the crisis citizens used to base their position on the scale on partisanship more than on values. After the crisis, values surpassed partisanship. Elite placements were mainly based on values.

意识形态的概念与经济不平等，国家对经济的干预，政党认同，道德价值观以及最近的后唯物主义价值观有关。也有人认为，公众对这一概念的理解与精英人士相似。本文分析了最近一次严重的金融危机前后五个国家在精英和群众水平上的左右连续体。它研究：i）价值观相对于党派的相对权重，作为左右自我安置的基础；ii）政治精英和公民是否具有共同的意识形态因素；iii）由于2007-2008年的金融危机，这些因素是否发生了任何变化。该研究是利用调查数据进行的定量分析。调查结果表明，在危机前后，精英阶层和群众都集中在适度的位置。公民在解释左右自我安置时不遵循精英；金融危机导致精英阶层向右走，公众向左走。在危机发生之前，公民习惯于将党派的立场更多地放在党派上，而不是价值观上。危机过后，价值观超越了党派关系。精英职位主要基于价值。价值观超越党派关系。精英职位主要基于价值。价值观超越了党派关系。精英职位主要基于价值。