[Obama: you have a choice to make] Ideology is a complicated word with both specific and
more pedestrian meanings. [Zizek: Ideology is not simply imposed on our selves.]
Often people use ideology to describe a political position, such as the neocon or a socialist
and the beliefs that identify these groups.
In discourse theory, however,
ideology has a more specific use and it is helpful to separate these.
Ideology is an important concept for social critique.
The question "ideology" seeks to answer is why people seemingly opted not to act in
their best interests. If we're free why do we act like we aren't?
The reason is school.
School is lauded as this necessary, productive time of personal
growth and development. You are not only learning to read, write and add in school
you are also learning to obey and to internalize ideology.
Ideology is not, simply speaking, good or bad but its effects are unequally realized
Let's get back to why ideology is useful as a concept.
The underlying reason 20th century critics have been interested in this question is that they want to
understand why when presented with the option people were drawn to fascism when
their conditions started sucking. What makes people act against their interests?
There is one particularly easy answer to this fear: fear of violence or the threat
of violence. This is the premise by which Hobbes and Locke established the social
contract. If you want people to fall in line you need police, courts, and prisons
sponsored by the state. But that doesn't cover all cases. People in general seem
to be willing to accept or even support political corruption, inequality and
systems that just don't make their lives better.
So the question is: If fear is not compelling people to support bad systems then what is?
the concept of ideology is meant to answer just that question.
Ideology was first of all a Marxist idea although you don't have to be a Marxist to see that it's useful
Marx himself discussed ideology in feudal economies. In these economies
ideology reflects the interest of the ruling class and justifies the status
quo that keeps them in power. Obviously for any status quo revolution and
rebellion is a bad thing. Those of the lower classes internalize the ruling
ideology because they are not self conscious, so in a feudal system you, as a
serf, should not rebel against your Lord because the Bible says the meek shall
inherit the earth. This means stay in your station and
you'll be rewarded in heaven so it's bad to disrupt the divine order here on
earth if you are born into a position that's where God wants you to stay.
Note that this is not a back room lie that some priests and kings thought up to
control everybody. The kings and the priests believed it as much as anyone.
Almost everyone believes in divine right at least in a feudal society including
those who benefit from it and those who don't
Christianity didn't cause this belief but it does help justify keeping things
as they are. Ideology always gives reasons why the
status quo need not be changed. The idea here is that ideology is
internalized by everyone it's not a secret conspiracy made up by those who
benefit from it, it emerges from the conditions of labour and ownership and
then is justified after the fact using religion, racism, popular mythology or
whatever latent beliefs are just lying around. In the 20th century the concept
of ideology changes and takes on a slightly different meaning.
Ideology still means accepting beliefs that you believe without consciously knowing you
believe them but here they are reinforced through expected and approved
behaviors to make you a good subject and a future cog in a capitalist economy.
So this would be then capitalist ideology. Louis Althusser defined two types of
apparatus that controlled behavior. The first is called the repressive apparatus
which controls you through the threat of violence including police, courts, and
prisons. But fear is not the primary motivator in most of our lives.
As it turns out being normal, being accepted, and belonging to a group are just as
strong motivators. Here is where ideological apparatuses do most of
the work so that the police and courts only need to step in when these fail to
put people in their place. Ideological State Apparatuses prevent change to the
status quo and include schools, politics, and the mass media.
Here are some quick examples: Politics maintain the status quo by giving you a choice so you feel
like you have some responsibility towards the society you live in, but in
today's democracies by and large you have a choice between barely
distinguishable parties this choice is a choice between status quo and status quo
Not a choice that's going to change much of anything.
Stan you came back! Does that mean you learned the importance of voting?
I learned that I better get used to having to pick between a douche and a turd
sandwich because it's usually the choice I'll have.
Advertising in the mass media offers a similarly illusory choice between basically indistinguishable
commodities but having that illusion of choice generally settles down people's
revolutionary impulses. sure you can define yourself as a social a greaser by
Sure, you can define yourself as a Soc or a Greaser by
wearing different clothes and maybe get some community out of it but again, nothing much will change.
Entertainment and sports in particular provide you
with an artificial allegiance that Marxists would say divorce you from your
natural class allegiances. The sensible thing to do would be for workers to
fight as a united group for better pay, better benefits, and less inequality.
But if there's a ball game on a few times a week you're more likely to identify as a
Boston fan than as a member of the working class. The difference is that
being a Boston fan has no chance of changing the economic conditions of your life.
You can easily think of more examples, I'm sure, but in each case the point of
the ideological apparatus is that you do not think about inequality
and most importantly that you don't do anything to change it except by approved channels
like choosing between a douche bag or a turd sandwich every couple of years.
Let's get out and vote! Let's make our voices heard! We've been given the right to choose between a
douche and a turd.
Now, to schools: schools are, bar none, the most powerful
Ideological State Apparatus because they are mandatory and...
Schools now serve the ideological purpose that the medieval Catholic Church did in the
feudal system
School, on its face, teaches you to read, write, and add--all good things right?
But this mission veils its more pertinent lesson one that transcends all subjects
discipline.
In school you are taught to follow a strictly regimented schedule
seven or eight hours of lessons broken up by an hour of leisure; always the same
every day. You are taught to submit to authority, to obey, not to speak out of
turn, to share your pencils, to clean up after yourself and to raise your hand if
you wish to speak. Every interaction is governed by the authority of the teacher
And what happens if you don't follow any one of these instructions? Well, that is
when the threat of violence steps in: you'll be forcibly removed from class if
you disrupt it, your parents will be called if you are late,
you'll get detention if your assignments are late
Violence in this context does not mean getting beaten (usually) but your
corporeal freedom is restricted by force
All of this behavioral reinforcement is priming you to be a non-confrontational,
submissive, obedient producer in a capitalist system. You are taught to
respect authority, to not interfere with your peers, to complete your tasks on
time, and most importantly not to rebel.
If you don't follow the rules of the school, you'll get detention. If you don't learn
these lessons in school you'll be incarcerated.
This is the layout of a grade school classroom.
This is the layout of a church.
Of a political ceremony.
Of a courtroom.
Of a lecture.
Of a product release.
The ideology is submitting yourself, alongside your peers, to the authority
And is ideology instantiated in the layout itself.
The purpose of school is as much the social and economic order as it is to teach reading and writing.
You are primed to accept authority and violence is always the lurking fear.
They teach critical thinking, sure, but critical thinking never extends to the apparatus itself
Althusser it is clear that the teachers are not to blame here. They are merely
placeholders in the structure of the ideology of discipline. If they do not
teach discipline properly and their classrooms are not organized, quiet, and
submissive they themselves will be disciplined by their superiors.
Parents are not to blame either. Parents do not want their kids to end up in jail so
they play their role in this disciplinary ideology as well.
You have two choices: you can accept authority and discipline, or, if you do not accept it
that's when the repressive apparatus begins to take away your corporeal
freedoms: detention or prison.
Of course this is not a real choice but
this lesson is preparing you for the rest of your life in which you'll continue to have no real choice.
[Obama: you have a choice to make]
[Bush: and I encourage to go shopping more]
[Carlin: You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers.]
[Zizek: The critique of ideology should be the opposite.
You take off the glasses]
[Carlin: ...people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork,
and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs]
You have a choice to make.
You take off the glasses.
Perhaps the reason then that people accept bad leadership is not only
because they are good liars but because the notion that authority is good,
justified, and must be heeded has been ingrained in us before we ever had a say
in the matter.
Answering the call of ideology, responding to it, is what dooms you from the outset. Althusser calls this
"interpellation."
We are individuals within the rules of punctuality, politeness and
obedience to authority. Breaking these rules doesn't mean you are outside of
the ideology because being punished is also a position within it.
Ideology is total and its purpose is to keep things how they are. Every subject needs to
internalize the ideology to keep it working.
Well... almost everyone.
As the system is meant to support the production and exchange of capital
capital also provides some people with exceptions.
We are taught to be productive and work hard... unless you have inherited a lot of wealth.
We are taught to share and contribute to group work...unless you can get around it.
We are taught to bring our cans back to the store to protect the environment... unless you can afford the fine.
We are taught not to hurt each other...unless you can afford the best lawyers.
We are taught to follow the rules... unless you can pay to change them.
We are taught that you'll be punished for taking things from other people... unless you know the judge.
We are taught to respect others... unless you're a star then they let you do it.
Ideology is meant to keep the status quo in place that means keeping most people in place
If the rich and powerful break the law once in a while, so what?
But it isn't real. It's imaginary, and it only continues to work because everyone
believes it does... Even when it doesn't.
I'm Plasticpills, thank you for watching check out my other stuff and I'll see you later.
You take off the glasses