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Ideology and ideology State Apparatuses

By Louis Althusser

There are 5 major arguments in the essay. Throughout the essay, Althusser develops from
various traditional Marxist modal and also, from various thinkers.

I. ON THE REPRODUCTION OF THE CONDITIONS OF PRODUCTION

Social Formation arises dominant mode of production definite relations of
production.
For the social formation to remain intact, conditions have to be reproduced.
These conditions are: 1. The productive forces
2. The existing relations of productions
a. Reproduction of the means of production- it‘s an endless chain.
b. Reproduction of labour-power, also known as productive forces. Their reproduction is
ensured by ‗historical minimum wages‘.
Reproduction of labour power Reproduction of skill Reproduction of its submission to
the rules of the established order.

II. INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPERSTRUCTURE

Marx defines society as having ‗levels‘ or ‗instances‘ which is determined by Infrastructure
or economic base.
In the essay, Althusser defines economic base as well as Superstructure. Society is defined by
the spatial metaphor of an edifice.
a. Economic base is the unity of: 1. Productive forces
2. Relations of production

b. Superstructure has 2 ‗levels‘ or ‗instances‘

1. The politico-legal (Law and the State)
2. Ideology (religious, ethical, legal, political, etc.)

The index of effectivity between Economic base and Superstructure:

1. There is a ‗relative autonomy‘ of the Superstructure with respect to the Base.
2. There is a ‗reciprocal action‘ of the Superstructure on the Base.
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III. STATE
Marx and Lenin have both respectively talked about ‗State‘ in their works.
State is seen as a Repressive Apparatus a ‗machine‘ of repression that enables ruling
class (class struggle conducted by the bourgeoisie and its allies against proletariat).
State consists of: 1. The head of the State
2.The Government and
3. The Administration
Althusser also sees ‗State‘ as a specialized apparatus whose existence is necessary for the
requirement of legal practice i.e. Police, courts, prisons but also the army.
State (apparatus) has no meaning except as a function of State Power.
The whole political class struggle revolves around the possession of State (seizure and
conversion of State power by certain class).

State

State Power State Apparatus

(The objective of political class (It may survive political events which
Struggle) affect the possession of Sate
Power)

a. The essentials of the Marxist Theory of the State

1. State is Repressive State Apparatus
2. State Power and State Apparatus must be distinguished.
3. Objective of class struggle concerns state power and use of state apparatus by the
class holding state power as a function of their class objectives.
4. Proletariat must seize state power in order to destroy the existing bourgeoisie state
apparatus, leading to destruction of state (also every state apparatus).

b. The State Ideological Apparatuses

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State Power

State Apparatus

Ideological State Apparatuses Repressive State Apparatuses

(ISA) (RSA)

ISA are not RSA

State Apparatus contains:
The Govt.
The Administration
The Army
The Police
The Court
The Prison, etc.

Ideological State Apparatuses are:

The religious ISA (the system of the different churches)
The educational ISA (public and private schools)
The family ISA
The legal ISA
The political ISA (the political system including different parties)
The trade union ISA
The communication ISA (press, radio, television, etc)
The cultural ISA (literature, the arts, sports, etc)
Read Page 15- Gramsci

RSA functions by violence and ISA functions by ideology.

It is important to note that every state apparatus whether ‗RSA‘ or ‗ISA‘ both function by
violence and ideology. However, RSA primarily functions by repression (including physical
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repression) and secondarily by ideology. Example: Army and Police. Whereas, ISA
massively functions by ideology but also by repression. Example: punishment, expulsion and
selection in schools and church.
Ruling class State Power (at their disposal) RSA and ISA.
ISA Site of class struggle.
It is ISA which largely secure the reproduction specifically of the relations of production,
behind a ‗shield‘ provided by the repressive state apparatus.
Ideology of the ruling class holds the State Power.
*it is the intermediation of the ruling ideology that ensures ‗harmony‘ between RSA and ISA.

Q. How is the reproduction of the relations of production secured?

A. By legal-political and ideological superstructure. It is secured by the exercise of State
Power in State Apparatuses-RSA and ISA.
In a mature capitalist society, the role church as an ISA has been replaced by the Educational
ISA.
Then- Church-Family
Now- School-Family
Q. Why Educational ISA is dominant in Capitalist Social Formation?
1. All ISA contribute to reproduction of the relations of production i.e. Capitalist Exploitation
2. The Educational ISA has a dominant role as it is silent in nature. Schools are represented
as a neutral environment, purged of ideology.
Agents of exploitation (Capitalists, Managers), Agents of repression (soldiers, policemen,
politicians, administrators, etc) and professional ideologists (priests of all sorts, etc even
laymen) are obligatory audience for 8 hours for 5-6 days in a week.
Children learn ‗scientific‘ and ‗cultural culture‘, useful in different jobs in production.
Besides, technique and knowledge, they also learn rules of ‗good‘ behavior which ensures the
naturalization of attitude observed by every agent in the division of labour. This is how rules
of order are established by class domination.
School (along with Church and Army) ensures subjection to the ruling class ideology or
mastery of its practice.

IV. ON IDEOLOGY
Invented by Cabanis, Destutt de Tracy and their friends
Ideology is the system of the ideas and representations which dominate the mind of a man or
a social group (religious, ethical, legal, political).
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a. Ideology has no history-It always expresses class positions.

*It involves mode of production combined in social formations and close struggle developed.
In ‗The German ideology‘ (Marx and Engels) ideology is seen as:
1. A pure illusion, a pure dream i.e. as nothingness.
2. All its reality is external to it.
3. Ideology is an imaginary construction.
Read Page 28+29
Takes Freud‘s example- unconscious is eternal- that it has no history.
Ideology is eternal

Unchanging over time omnipresent in its immutable form throughout history.

b. Ideology is a representation of the imaginary relationship of individual to their real

conditions of existence.
Object:
1. Imaginary form of ideology
2. Materiality of ideology

Ideology World Outlook Largely imaginary – Do not correspond

to reality

But they do make illusion (an indirect/passing reference) to reality needs to be

interpreted to discover the reality of world.
Ideology Illusion & Allusion
Ideology - ‗men represent their real condition of existence to themselves in an imaginary
form‘.

With respect to ideology, Althusser imposes important questions:

Pg. 31 Q- why do men ―need‖ this imaginary transposition of their real conditions of
existence order to ‗represent to themselves‘ their real conditions of existence?
Pg. 32 Now I can……Read.
―All ideology represents in its necessary imaginary distortion not the existing relations of
production ( and the other relations that derive from them) but above all the (imaginary)
relationship of individuals to the relations of production and the relations that derive from
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them, what is represented in ideology to therefore not the system of all real relations which
govern the existence of individual but the imaginary relation of those individuals to real
relation in which they live‖

2. Ideology has a material existence

Ideas or representations Make Ideology do not have ideal/spiritual existence but
material existence.
Nature of ideology
ISA Ideology unity of religious, ethical, legal, political, subjection to the ruling class
Ideology exists in an apparatus & its practice or practices. This existence is material – of
course, it doesn‘t have same modality as rifle or a table
Neo Aristotelian aspect: ‗matter is discussed in many sense‘ - exists in different modalities—
all rooted in ‗physical matter‘
Example: Church Goes to mass, Kneels, prays
Justice Will follow rules of law
Subject Consciousness Believe in ideas that his consciousness inspired freely
accepts- Act according to his ideas actions of his material practice

Ideology (Action) Practices (Rituals) material existence of ISA

a. There is no practice except by and in an ideology.
b. There is no ideology except by the subject and for the subjects.

V. IDEOLOGY INTERPELLATES INDVIDUALS AS SUBJECTS

*Subject & its functioning

All ideology has the function of constituting concrete individuals as subjects. Ideology poses
obviousness as obviousness (without appearing to do so).
Constantly practice the rituals of ideological recognition (Handshake, name).
Althusser distinguishes between Concrete individuals and Concrete subjects.
Ideology ‗acts‘ or ‗functions‘ in a way that recruits subjects among the individuals or
transforms individuals into subjects by interpretation or hailing.
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Example: Police- Hey, you there!

Individual Subject (Already).
The existence of ideology and hailing or interpellation of individuals as subjects are one and
the same thing.
Ideology never says ‗I am ideological‘.
Accusation of being an ideology only applies to others, never to oneself.
Individuals are always – already subjects. Hence, individuals are ‗abstracts‘ with respect to
the subjects which they always already are. Example: of unborn child (family ISA)
Gives an example of Christian religious ideology (Read).