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The critique of ideology is a concept used in critical theory,
literary studies Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. T ...
, and cultural studies. It focuses on analyzing the ideology found in cultural texts, whether those texts be works of popular culture or high culture, philosophy or TV advertisements. These ideologies can be expressed implicitly or explicitly. The focus is on analyzing and demonstrating the underlying ideological assumptions of the texts and then criticizing the attitude of these works. An important part of ideology critique has to do with “looking suspiciously at works of art and debunking them as tools of oppression”.


Terminology

The
critique Critique is a method of disciplined, systematic study of a written or oral discourse. Although critique is commonly understood as fault finding and negative judgment,Rodolphe Gasché (2007''The honor of thinking: critique, theory, philosophy''p ...
of ideology has a particular understanding of "ideology," distinct from political perspective or opinions. This specialized meaning comes from the term's root in the works of
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and
Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Markus Gabriel Markus Gabriel (; born April 6, 1980) is a German philosopher and author at the University of Bonn. In addition to his more specialized work, he has also written popular books about philosophical issues. Career Gabriel was educated in philosophy ...
defines ideology as "any attempt to objectify the human mind ..to eradicate the historical dimensions of it, to turn something which is historically contingent, produced by humans, into some kind of natural necessity." In the work of Marx and Engels, ideology was the false belief that capitalist society was a product of human nature, when in reality it had been imposed, often violently, in particular circumstances, in particular places, at particular historical periods. The term "critique" is also employed in a special manner. Rather than a synonym for criticism, "critique" comes from Immanuel Kant's usage of the term, which meant an investigation into the structures under which we live, think, and act. A critic of ideology, in this sense, is not merely one who expresses disagreement or disapproval, but who is able to bring to light the belief's true conditions of possible existence. Because conditions are constantly changing, showing a belief's existence to be built on mere conditions implicitly shows that they are not eternal, natural, or organic, but are instead historical, contingent, and therefore changeable. Frankfurt School philosopher
Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer (; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist who was famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the Frankfurt School of social research. Horkheimer addressed authoritarianism, militari ...
termed a theory critical if it aims "to liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them."


After Marx

There is no universally agreed upon definition or model of ideology. The classical and
orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
Marxist definition of ideology is false belief, emergent from the oppressive society which educates its citizens to be obedient workers. The failures of the 1918 revolutions, the rise of Stalinism and
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
, and the explosion of another world war saw a new focus on the importance of ideology among Marxists. Rather than a mere lie of the political-economic establishment, ideology was recognized to be a force in its own right.
Wilhelm Reich Wilhelm Reich ( , ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian doctor of medicine and a psychoanalyst, along with being a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author of several influential books, most ...
and later the Frankfurt School complemented Marx's theory of society with Freud's theory of the subject, departing from orthodox Marxism and the
Leninist Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishm ...
traditions, and setting the foundations of what later came to be called "critical theory." Reich saw the rise of fascism as an expression of a long-repressed sexuality. Frankfurt School philosopher Theodor Adorno wrote in his essay "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" how the mass entertainment blunts the possibilities for liberatory action by creating and satisfying false needs.
Interested parties like to explain the culture industry in technological terms. Its millions of participants, they argue, demand reproduction processes which inevitably lead to the use of standard products to meet the same needs at countless locations. The technical antithesis between few production centers and widely dispersed reception necessitates organization and planning by those in control. The standardized forms, it is claimed, were originally derived from the needs of the consumers: that is why they are accepted with so little resistance. In reality, a cycle of manipulation and retroactive need is unifying the system ever more tightly.
Adorno identifies supply and demand reasoning as ideological. It is not merely a false belief: it is a false worldview or philosophy which enables the maintenance of the contingent, historical status quo while appearing to be objective and scientific. A major theme of the Frankfurt School is that those modes of thinking which, at first, are liberatory, may become ideological as time goes on.


See also

* Binary opposition * Immanent critique * Interpellation * "
Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (Notes Towards an Investigation)" (French: "Idéologie et appareils idéologiques d'État (Notes pour une recherche)") is an essay by the French Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser. First published in 197 ...
" * Louis Althusser *''
The Sublime Object of Ideology ''The Sublime Object of Ideology'' is a 1989 book by the Slovenian philosopher and cultural theorist Slavoj Žižek. The work is widely considered his masterpiece. Summary Žižek thematizes the Kantian notion of the sublime in order to liken i ...
'' * Slavoj Žižek *
Culture industry The term culture industry (german: Kulturindustrie) was coined by the critical theorists Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), and was presented as critical vocabulary in the chapter "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment ...
* Cultural hegemony * Antonio Gramsci


References

Ideologies Critical theory {{critical-theory-stub