This essay discusses contemporary political ideologies, their emergence, development and relevance for the modern world. It firstly deals with the origin of the concept of ”ideology”, its positive and pejorative meanings, and the Marxist interpretation. The article then traces the evolution of concepts and theories on modern ideologies from the perspective of the sociology of knowledge. Subsequently the treatise describes and evaluates the controversy involving the end of ideology of the 1960s and 1990s. The author also attempts to define and classify the present-day isms in term of their impact on social, political, economic and cultural 350 reality. Finally, the paper assesses the significance of conservativism, liberalism, socialism, Marxism, nationalism, fundamentalism, feminism and ecologism for the contemporary world.