Connections between false consciousness and ideology

"False consciousness" is a notion originating from the social class of Marxist theory. In the
consciousness of subordinate classes, the term applies to the systemic false representation of
prevailing social relations. The term' false consciousness' was not used by Marx himself, but
he dedicated increasing interest to the relevant concepts of ideology and commodity
fetishism. Individuals of a subordinate class (workers, peasants, serfs) struggle from false
consciousness by deliberately concealing or obscuring the realities of subordination,
exploitation, and superiority represented by their cognitive models of the social structures
surrounding them. Centered on an interpretation of the objective characteristics of the
structure of economic relations that compose the social order, Marx proposed an objective
theory of class. The social class of an individual is defined by his or her place within the
property relations scheme that constitutes a given economic society. People also have
qualities that are subjective: concepts, mental constructs, and identities. These mental
frameworks provide the individual with a theoretical context through which the individual
recognizes his or her position in the world and the forces controlling his or her existence. The
cognitive frameworks of one may more or less conform well to the social reality they are
trying to reflect. There is an implicit clash of material interests between affluent and
oppressed classes in a class culture. In class society, Marx argues that social structures arise
that methodically establish biases, mistakes, and blind spots in the consciousness of the
underclass. If these processes of consciousness-shaping did not exist, then the underclass,
always the majority, would rapidly overthrow their system of supremacy. Thus, in such a way
as to produce false consciousness and ideology, the institutions that form the perceptions,
ideas, and frameworks of the individual create. In reference to a system of ideas through
which people understand their environment, Marx uses the word "ideology." The view that
"ideology" and thinking rely on the material conditions in which the individual lives is a core
theoretical statement in Marx's writings. Instead of consciousness deciding material reality,
material conditions decide consciousness. According to Marxist theory, a structure of
ideology takes on the role of promoting the ruling class's class gain. Those who view Marx as
having an ideological conception as false consciousness. It is capable of understanding many
different items. These people claim that Marx meant a deluded social consciousness or
collective self-deception, an alienated consciousness, the oppressed exploited social
consciousness, a skewed and false social awareness and interpretation, and a social
consciousness of non-scientific, common sense.

Karl Mannheim offered a more sociological analysis of class consciousness in his attempt in
the 1930s to formulate a sociology of knowledge (Mannheim 1959 [1936]). Knowledge
sociology aims to provide a conceptual overview of the relationship between knowledge
structures and the social contexts from which they arise, offering a theoretical basis for
understanding the functioning of an ideological structure. The idea that the social status of the
bourgeoisie and proletariat profoundly affects the modes of knowledge they represent is
supported by Mannheim; and in each instance, he claims that such modes of material
prejudice contribute to a systemic falsification of social truth.
In the 1930s, Antonio Gramsci expanded Marxist thought regarding philosophy and
consciousness dramatically (Gramsci 1971). Inside politics and culture, Gramsci gave
philosophy a more active position than traditional historical materialism. He stated that the
proletariat is capable of manipulating the conditions of its consciousness, so there is
widespread conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat over the accordance to the
current social reality's representation. Through its domination of the resources of
consciousness, the bourgeoisie normally exercises "hegemony" over intellectual terms; but
the proletariat can exert power through its own cultural institutions. A significant shift in the
classical theory of ideology is made by this viewpoint, in that it rejects that the subordinate
class is merely the passive instrument of the dominant ideology.
The French philosopher Louis Althusser gave an important information on the impact of
ideology in class society (Althusser 1971). (Althusser 1971). Althusser's writings on the role
of ideology in the social model deviates from the understanding offered in German Ideology,
commonly described as providing a structuralist interpretation of Marxism. Althusser
questions the idea that ideology is a function of consciousness; instead, he refers to a
"ideological state apparatus" as the collection of institutions that create and replicate
knowledge in social states. And he rejects the idea that there is an external social truth
independent of ideology; rather all characteristics of reality are embodied in language and
distinct from the "ideological" characteristics of consciousness.