The term ideology is a constant term used to critically describe our culture. My own definition of ideology is a view created by a few and followed by many. There are many variations of the definition of ideology, but the main idea is that a few, the dominant class, produce the idea, and the rest of society follows it. According to Marx and Engels, their definition of ideology has to do with the economics of society, and that individuals will follow the ideas, which represent “the economic interest of the class they belong to” (34). For example, the dominant class adheres to the ideas that perpetuate their position of economic status in society. Marx and Engels also explain that the ruling class has both material and intellectual force. “The individuals composing the ruling class posses among other things consciousness, and therefore think” (39). This quote is essentially saying that the thinkers are the ones in power, because they are consciously participating in our culture and created valid ideas that can be followed by the majority, who are said to unconsciously function. I found this to be related to Benjamin’s quote, “the public is an examiner, but an absent-minded one” (33). According to Benjamin, the public is not critical enough; we will essentially accept anything that is given to us.
Ideologies are systems of ideas that are produced by the dominant class and normalized by a culture and we act in accordance to them. Althusser expands on the idea of ideology and theorizes that ideology does not exist without subjects (46). We do not have to be made subjects because we are subjects already. A subject produces a particular ideology and other subjects follow that ideology, for an ideology to function others have to follow it, otherwise the ideology would not exist. For example, an ideology at Rollins is to receive a liberal arts education. For this ideology to exist, the idea has to be perpetuated by a ruling class, in this case it is the administration and staff at Rollins, and people must adhere to the ideology. As students, we are following the ideology by attending school and following the general education requirements to graduate from a liberal arts school.
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You do a very good job in capturing exactly what Marx and Althussar identify as ideology. There is clearly a difference between the middle classes perception of ideology compared to the ones in power. Even though Habermas identifies how the public are absent-minded, think of what Jenkins would say to this with his concept of participatory culture. Good job! :)
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