In this very famous essay, Althusser is primarily concerned with demonstrating how the various apparatuses that constitute the state are concerned with reproducing ideology that is friendly to the state. For example, schools, which are responsible for imparting "know-how" to young people that will give them the ability to make a living, do so in ways that, Althusser writes, "ensure subjection to the ruling ideology or the mastery of its 'practice."
In short, Althusser is really arguing for the importance of ideology to the subjection of working-class people. Marx had viewed ideology as "superstructural," a characterization that Althusser does not reject. But the fact that it is dependent on material realities does not mean that it is less significant. He categorizes the various state apparatuses as "repressive" and "ideological." So-called "repressive" apparatuses, like the police and even the family, primarily function by disciplining people in ways that reinforce the prevailing social structure. "Ideological" apparatuses inculcate the people with ideologies that do the same thing. Althusser especially implicates education as a mechanism, or "apparatus," of ideological repression, but the state does so in other ways, especially mass communication. These ideologies, Althusser claims, "always express class positions" in that they represent the material relations in any given society. Thus, they can only be understood, and their repressive mechanisms unpacked, by understanding them in their broader social context.
Karl Marx notes that every modern, industrialized society has a base, or infrastructure, of economic activity, and a superstructure that is not directly related to economic activity but supports, and is supported by, the economic system. The base is comprised of all things related to means of production (for example, tools and factories) and the relations of production (for example, private property and capital). The superstructure contains everything from art to law, encompassing any and all things that shape the ideology of the state. Both Marx and Althusser agree that the state apparatus, or superstructure, is designed to repress the working class. and that the proletariat (or working class) must seize the state apparatus and radically restructure it so that it no longer exists. But how, exactly, does the superstructure work? This is where Althusser comes in.
Althusser breaks the superstructure into two useful categories: the repressive state apparatus, or RSA, and the ideological state apparatus, or ISA. While the RSA tends to be seen as public (meaning state-controlled), the ISA can be considered private (meaning available within the state, but not controlled by it). However, Althusser tells us that neither fit these categories neatly.
Let's break these two categories down further.
The Repressive State Apparatus would include things like the government, the army, and the police. Think anything that dictates and reinforces the law. They are repressive because they largely determine what you can't do. If the government passes a law saying you can't steal from your neighbor, that is something that will be legally reinforced, and there will be an assigned punishment for anyone who breaks that law. Fairly straight forward, right?
The Ideological State Apparatus is a little trickier to unpack. This will include things like religion, education, the family, and so forth. While the ISA appears to be independent from the RSA, Althusser tells us that this is not true. Why? Because those in power (who, in many cases, we would associate with the RSA) tend to dictate the given ISA of the time. Ideology, he says, creates a representation of an imaginary relationship of the individual to their conditions of existence. In other words, our ideology gives us a way of understanding our place within our state.
This is probably still confusing, right? Here's a quick example, borrowed from Althusser, himself:
When we go to school, we learn facts (which, as we know, tend to be swayed in a direction that favors our state's history). But we also learn things like obedience within power relations. We learn that we must obey our teachers, we must show up to class on time, and we must complete our assignments if we don't want to be punished. This, Althusser says, will translate into our lives as workers. We learned in school to do what is asked of us by our superior, and we will probably carry that attitude over when we get a job. This isn't government-enforced, exactly, but we have learned that this is what we must do to function in our society.
The RSA is much easier to identify, and it's much easier to understand what we are rebelling against, if we so choose. The ISA is more subtle. It can easily change in the face of an uprising, but it may change in a way that simply supports the new ruling class and works to suppress the new subordinate class. Thus, to have a real revolution that will lead to some sort of economic equity, as Marx desires, the ISA has to be dismantled entirely.
Unfortunately, even Althusser doesn't seem to have an answer for how we would go about doing that. In fact, reading this essay, it seems that he might not believe it's possible, at all.
To understand Althusser’s essay you must first have a grasp on Marx. Marx created a theory for understanding how Western society functions according to class. He argued that the superstructure was an umbrella-like, overarching body of rule. It includes direct forms of government and also ideology, such as, religion and law. Below the superstructure is the economic base. According to Marx changes can be made relatively easily to the economic base. However, he argues that it is much more difficult to impact the superstructure. This is why it is very hard to influence society as a whole.
Althusser builds off of Marx’s theory by expanding on how ideology functions. He breaks down ideology into two parts. The first is the ideological state apparatus. This accounts for intangible places of thought creation and reproduction. For example, family, church, television, sports, and politics are all sites of the ideological state apparatus. The ideological state apparatus is diverse and expansive. It comes from all angles and works persuasively.
Conversely, state apparatuses are more obvious, very tangible spaces of ideology. For example, police and prisons are agencies of the state apparatus. Althusser believes that the state apparatus is differentiated in its more apparent and direct use of violence and force. In addition, the state apparatus is invasive and has access to the private lives of citizens. For example, the police can enter our homes with a search warrant. He believes that the state apparatus targets the working class due to their vulnerabilities. While the state apparatus uses force, the ideological state apparatus requires buy in from the public. This was a ground-breaking theory because it highlights the two ways in which the state has influence. One is obvious, while the other is more covert but pervasive.
In his essay, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses,” Louis Althusser applies his theory of ideology to the Marxist theories of the State and the conditions of production. He explains how “the ultimate condition of production is the reproduction of the conditions of production.” What he means by this is that in order to perpetuate capitalism, ideology, which is “the system of the ideas and representations which dominate the mind of a man or a social group,” needs to carry it forth.
In capitalism, the reproduction of labor power by the proletariat is required for the system to work, and for this reproduction to happen, there needs to also be reproductions of the “world views” of both the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Only under ideological subjection can the reproduction of the skills of labor happen sufficiently.
Althusser proposes a thesis regarding two apparatuses he believes are used: the repressive State apparatus and the ideological State apparatus. Repressive State apparatuses are easy to explain – they are State institutions like the Army and the Police which function by repression. ISAs, on the other hand, are the real power in securing reproduction. State Repressive apparatuses are to secure ISAs. Furthermore, Althusser argues that the ISA which is in the dominant position to protect capitalist interest is the educational system, which replaced the ecclesiastical system.
No comments:
Post a Comment