The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique
tr. 47-56
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oai:112.137.131.14:VNU_123-564782018-08-10T08:06:15Z The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique Strickland, Ronald Marxism; Marxist critique; Ideology; Althusser; Discourse tr. 47-56 Louis Althusser's essay, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses", which appeared English in 1971 as a chapter in his book entitled Lenin and Philosophy, reinvigorated Marxist literary criticism in the West. Before Althusser's essay was published, most Western critics held the. Hegelian view that ideas (including those expressed in literature) drive historical change. Traditional Marxist criticism presented the opposing view. Following the Marxist understanding of base and superstructure, it was assumed that the economic conditions and relations of production (base) were simply reflected in cultural phenomena such as literature (superstructure). Literature, in this view, was inevitably an expression of ideological "false consciousness" supporting oppressive political and economic relations. But Marx himself suggested that the simple "reflection" role was not adequate. If the Greek tragedies of Sophocles were simple reflections of the economic conditions of ancient Greece, he asked, why were they still popular? Building on Marx's materialist account of language and consciousness, Althusser makes two significant advances over the traditional understanding of ideology. First, he rejects as an oversimplification the concept of ideology as merely false consciousness. For Althusser, there is no unmediated access to truth; all consciousness is constituted by and necessarily inscribed within ideology. Second, for Althusser, there is no clear dividing line between base and superstructure. Ideology effectively "produces" social subjectivities and mediates the subject's experience of reality. On the one hand, this theory points to openings for revolutionary change. Since it is a corruptible material phenomenon, the superstructure can never perfectly reflect the base. On the other hand, since language and consciousness are material products, phenomena such as literature have real material effects. Ideology can be a "soft" insidious extension of the power of a repressive state apparatus. Constant, vigilant critique of ideology is required in order to resist reactionary tendencies and promote emancipatory revolution. 2017-08-11T03:17:51Z 2017-08-11T03:17:51Z 2012 Article Strickland, R. (2012). The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique. VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities No.5E, 47‐56 http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/56478 en VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities application/pdf H. : ĐHQGHN |
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Vietnam National University, Hanoi |
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VNU Library & Information Center |
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Vietnam |
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VNU Digital Repository |
| language |
English |
| topic |
Marxism; Marxist critique; Ideology; Althusser; Discourse |
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Marxism; Marxist critique; Ideology; Althusser; Discourse Strickland, Ronald The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique |
| description |
tr. 47-56 |
| format |
Article |
| author |
Strickland, Ronald |
| author_facet |
Strickland, Ronald |
| author_sort |
Strickland, Ronald |
| title |
The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique |
| title_short |
The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique |
| title_full |
The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique |
| title_fullStr |
The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Western Marxist Concept of Ideology Critique |
| title_sort |
western marxist concept of ideology critique |
| publisher |
H. : ĐHQGHN |
| publishDate |
2017 |
| url |
http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/56478 |
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1680968297241116672 |