Althusser, Louis. (1970) “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses”

  Link to Summary  | Main Idea – Ideology interpellates individuals as capitalist subjects. Capitalism relies on ISAs to reproduce subjects’ labour power and the relations of production so that it continues to regenerate itself into succeeding generations. Summary – Builds on Marx’s assumption that Capitalism only works if the conditions of production are reproduced. … Continue reading →

Marx (1867) “On the Fetishism of the Commodity”

Link to Video  |  Summary  | Karl Marx’s Fetishisms  |   On Cultural Marxism Marx proposes a theory of value – How do goods get their value/how do objects become commodities? It is NOT based on how useful they are (ex. A diamond has no real use, a pencil is very useful).  Today, it is … Continue reading →

Adorno and Horkheimer (1944) “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception”

Link to Text | Link to Summary | The Frankfurt School Main Idea – Capitalism relies on a “culture industry” to satiate the masses, train them to buy into capitalist ideology, suppress critical thinking, and thereby ensure that capitalism reproduces itself. In a capitalist society, the “culture industry” is strategically designed to provide fun and … Continue reading →

Gramsci (1930) “History of the Subaltern Classes” “Ideology” “Ideological Material”

Link to Summary Former leader of the Communist Party in Italy, these papers were written while he was jailed for opposing Mussolini. He wondered why peasants and labourers would vote for a Fascist leader and introduced the concept of hegemony. Hegemony – Intellectual and moral leadership achieved by consent, not coercion. The institutions of civil … Continue reading →

Marx and Engels (1845) “The Ruling Class and the Ruling Ideas”

Main Idea – The class that has the means of material production also controls the means of mental production.  Dominant ideologies serve the interests of the ruling class by legitimating class domination. Historical Materialism – Class struggles and other material interests drive history – not thinkers/philosophers, ideas, or events.  When we examine history from the … Continue reading →