Terms : Hide Images
| 608056641 | Marxism | A political-economic theory based on the writings of Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) that offers a critique of capitalism. It presents a vision of social change & society liberated from capitalist exploitation through a communist revolution. | |
| 608056642 | Dominant ideology thesis | For Karl Marx, in any historical period (epoch), the ideas of the ruling class - i.e. the class that controls the means of material production - are dominant. | |
| 608056643 | Bourgeoisie | The dominant class who own & control the means of production & present their interests as the dominant ideology. | |
| 608056644 | Proletariat | The working class who are forced to offer their labour in return for minimal wages & soul-destroying work. | |
| 608056645 | Base/superstructure model | Refers to Marx's theory that it is economic, material conditions (e.g. capitalist production) that form the foundations of society & culture. | |
| 608056646 | Dialectical materialism | The Marxist view of historical change sees developments in the economic 'base' (the means of material production) as the fundamental, driving force. The crucial factor is the relationship to the means of production e.g. 'owner' & 'worker'. | |
| 608056647 | Economic determinism | The theory that it is the economic 'base' that drives historical change & determines all aspects of culture & being. | |
| 608056648 | Communism | Marx's vision of a post-revolutionary, classless, stateless, egalitarian (completely equal) society involving shared ownership of the means of production & an end to private property & economic exploitation. | |
| 608056649 | Ideological hegemony | A term particularly associated with Antonio Gramsci (1891 - 1937) which suggests the ruling ideology is in a constant tactical battle for dominance with competing ideas. A refinement of the dominant ideology thesis. | |
| 608056650 | False consciousness | Marx's term for the condition of the working class under capitalism whereby they are prevented from recognising their own interests. | |
| 608056651 | Interpellation | For Louis Althusser (1918 - 1990) we are not free agents making free decisions; we are "brought into being" as subjects by capitalist discourse (i.e. addressed in different ways by a more or less invisible ideology) via a process of "hailing." | |
| 608056652 | Commodity fetishism | A term coined by Marx to describe the almost magical value attributed to objects in a capitalist economy. This value is derived not from how products are used, or from the labour of exploited workers who produce them - which is usually heavily disguised by advertising - but from the price they can command on the market. | |
| 608056653 | Alienation | Marxist term refering to the loss of meaning, fulfillment, & personal identity that occurs under capitalism: it includes loss of control over the creative process of capitalist production, separation of the producer from the value of the things produced, & isolation from fellow producers during the process. | |
| 608056654 | False needs | A term coined by Herbert Marcuse (1898 - 1979) of the Frankfurt School to describe the capacity of the capitalist culture industry to manipulate tastes & desires in order to persuade people to consume in carefully controlled & standardised manner. | |
| 608056655 | One-dimensional man | Marcuse's term refering to what we become when capitalism manages to substitute our 'real needs' for the carefully manipulated desire for products. We essentially become like puppets in the hands of a cynical advertising industry with no control over our lives or capacity to realise our true potential. | |
| 608056656 | Frankfurt School | A group of German critical theorists - Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, & Walter Benjamin - whose critique of industrial capitalism centred on the power of the mass media to restrict & control cultural life forcing people into mass consumption & conformity. | |
| 608056657 | Cultural capital | A term coined by Pierre Bourdieu (1930 - 2002) denoting cultural & social class resources that people inherit, learn, & use to their advantage in various situations. It explains how certain goods & cultural practices acquire a cachet of 'good taste' related to more subtle distinctions than simple cost. | |
| 608056658 | Culture industry | A Frankfurt School (Adorno & Horkheimer) term for the standardised, conformist, popular cultural product (TV, magazines, films) used to entertain & pacify the working classes. | |
| 608056659 | Culture industries | Music, TV, advertising, etc. The means by which capitalist values are reinforced & disseminated (spread). | |
| 608056660 | Elite | The wealthy, dominant group in a capitalist society whose conspicuous consumption makes them subjects of envy & emulation. | |
| 608056661 | Ideological state apparatuses | Althusser's view is that we are constituted as subjects by ideological practice i.e our values & desires are formed by the media, education system etc. & these constantly reinforce capitalism. | |
| 608056662 | Pseudo-individualisation | Adorno's term for the illusion of individuality provided by the (popular) culture industry. |
