Gwatter06, Marx / Althusser

Ideology is quite like postmodernism in the sense that they are both quite ambiguous. As we covered early on in the course, we discussed how postmodernity suffered from a certain semantic instability and could not even be attributed to one particular era. I found it interesting in the excerpt when they reviewed that; “definitions of ideology have spread in widening circle, from a local concern with the ideologies of groups in a conjuncture, to those of a period, an epoch and…a sense of ideology as perhaps characterizing the whole of Western culture since Ancient Greece” (33). I believe these holes in semantics of these terms and subjects actually create what they are and fuel their existence. Without this range for each subject, the inability for critical discourse and understanding would hamper what we now know or are beginning to know on each subject. The next intriguing topic and concept I came across in our assigned reading was Marx and his understanding and notion of the ruling class. Marx goes on to explain and evoke the relation and connection of the ruling class and the ruling ideas in stating that, “insofar, therefore, as they rule as a class and determine the extent and compass of an historical epoch, it is self-evident that they do this in its whole range, hence among other things rule also as thinkers, as producers of ideas, and regulate the production and distribution of the ideas of their age: thus their ideas are the ruling ideas of the epoch” (39). This basically explains that the ruling class and the dominant ruling ideas are directly correlated and proportional, meaning the ruling class distinguishes the ruling ideas and the ruling ideas distinguish the ruling class. In other words, those who attain control are those who attain consciousness and think. Even being elicit in a previous era to this day in time, we see this concept in action constantly. There are always those trying to rule by implementing their thoughts onto the larger whole or mass society, and sadly as we’ve been learning, the channel for this has been mass media. This is where ideology comes back into play. This concept closely relates to the concept of ideological hegemony, as Gramsci theorized that, “a ruling group, whether of the left or the right, must now govern through a balance of force and persuasion” (35). These points and concepts stood out to me firstly and were the most clear, I was able to relate some of the things in the reading to prerequisite knowledge and concepts from CMC100 so it propelled me to my blog for the day!