“Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser: Summary and Critique

Introduction: “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser

“Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser first appeared in La Pensée in 1970 and was later included in his collection Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays in 1971, translated by Ben Brewster. This essay is one of Althusser’s most influential works, introducing the concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) to explain how ideology functions in maintaining the power structures of capitalist societies. Althusser distinguishes between Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs), which function through force, and ISAs, which operate through ideology, such as the family, education, religion, and media. His analysis underscores how ISAs perpetuate the conditions of production by shaping individuals’ beliefs and behaviors, ensuring their submission to the dominant ideology. The work is significant in both literature and literary theory for its Marxist structural analysis of power and ideology, influencing poststructuralist thought and advancing the discussion on how culture and institutions play a central role in reproducing social hierarchies.

Summary of “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser

 Literary Terms/Concepts in “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser

Term/Concept	Definition	Explanation in Althusser’s Context
Ideology	A system of ideas, beliefs, and representations that shape how individuals perceive their relationship to the social structure.	Althusser views ideology as a crucial tool for maintaining the status quo by making individuals perceive their roles within a capitalist society as natural and inevitable.
Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs)	Institutions that enforce the power of the ruling class through coercion, such as the police, military, and judicial systems.	These function through violence or repression to maintain control over the population and ensure obedience to the ruling class.
Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs)	Institutions that propagate ideology through non-coercive means, such as schools, churches, media, and the family.	ISAs operate by shaping individuals’ beliefs and values, subtly ensuring their submission to the ruling ideology without direct force.
Interpellation	The process by which individuals are “hailed” or called by ideology to recognize themselves as subjects within the existing social structure.	Althusser argues that individuals are interpellated by ideology, meaning they recognize themselves within social roles (e.g., worker, citizen) and thus conform to societal expectations.
Subject	In Althusser’s framework, a subject is an individual who is constituted by ideology, recognizing themselves as a free, autonomous agent while being shaped by social forces.	Ideology creates subjects who perceive themselves as free, but their identity and actions are dictated by the ideological structures they are born into.
Reproduction of the Relations of Production	The process by which social structures and ideologies are reproduced to maintain the conditions necessary for capitalist production.	This concept refers to how ideology and ISAs ensure that labor power and social hierarchies are continuously regenerated to sustain capitalism.
Relative Autonomy	The idea that certain institutions, like ISAs, operate with some independence from the economic base, though ultimately they serve its interests.	Althusser suggests that while ISAs may seem independent, they function to reproduce the conditions necessary for capitalist exploitation and maintain the dominance of the ruling class.
Overdetermination	A concept borrowed from psychoanalysis, where multiple causes contribute to a single event or phenomenon.	Althusser applies this to explain how various ISAs (school, family, religion) work together to ensure individuals conform to the dominant ideology.
False Consciousness	A Marxist term referring to the misperception of one’s real position within the social and economic structure, typically by adopting the worldview of the ruling class.	While Althusser moves beyond “false consciousness,” he similarly discusses how ideology misrepresents individuals’ true conditions by making them accept their social position as natural.
Material Existence of Ideology	Althusser’s claim that ideology is not just a set of abstract ideas but exists materially through institutions, practices, and rituals.	For Althusser, ideology has a concrete form in the practices and rituals people engage in within ISAs, such as going to school or church, which embody and propagate dominant ideologies.

Contribution of “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser to Literary Theory/Theories

1. Structuralism and Post-Structuralism

• Althusser’s work is influenced by structuralism, particularly in its focus on how social structures (like ISAs) shape individual consciousness and societal functions. His ideas also laid the groundwork for post-structuralism by questioning how ideology operates within these structures.
• “It is not their real conditions of existence… but their relation to those conditions of existence which is represented to them.”
• This aligns with structuralist and post-structuralist views that meaning and identity are constructed through systems (like language or ideology), rather than inherent.

2. Marxist Literary Theory

• Althusser’s essay is a foundational text in Marxist literary theory, emphasizing the role of ideology in maintaining capitalist social relations and the function of literature as an ideological apparatus.
• “All ideology hails or interpellates concrete individuals as concrete subjects.”
• In Marxist literary criticism, this concept of “interpellation” is used to analyze how literary texts reinforce or challenge the dominant ideology by positioning readers as subjects within certain ideological frameworks.

3. Ideology Critique

• Althusser extends Marx’s concept of ideology, arguing that it is not just false consciousness but a material practice deeply embedded in social institutions. This notion impacts how literary critics approach the analysis of texts, seeing them as part of ideological state apparatuses that shape and reproduce social order.
• “Ideology has a material existence.”
• This view contributed to the development of ideology critique in literary theory, where texts are analyzed for how they reproduce or subvert dominant ideologies through their narratives, themes, and characters.

4. Cultural Materialism and New Historicism

• Althusser’s emphasis on how ISAs such as education, media, and religion propagate ideology has influenced cultural materialism and New Historicism. These theories examine how literature reflects and contributes to the social and political structures of its time.
• “The school… drums into them, whether it uses new or old methods, a certain amount of ‘know-how’ wrapped in the ruling ideology.”
• Cultural materialists and New Historicists view literature as a product of its historical and cultural context, shaped by and shaping the ideologies of its time.

5. Reader-Response Theory and Subjectivity

• Althusser’s idea of interpellation intersects with reader-response theory by examining how texts position readers as subjects. The concept that ideology shapes readers’ responses to texts helps explain how literature “hails” its audience into specific ideological positions.
• “Ideology interpellates individuals as subjects.”
• In reader-response theory, this idea helps understand how texts engage readers, making them complicit in the ideological frameworks the text supports or critiques.

6. Psychoanalytic Literary Theory

• Althusser’s concept of interpellation, which shapes individuals’ subjectivity, echoes themes in psychoanalytic theory, particularly the ways in which individuals are “hailed” by forces beyond their control (like the unconscious in Freudian theory). His work parallels the process of subject formation described in psychoanalysis.
• “The individual is interpellated as a (free) subject in order that he shall submit freely to the commandments of the Subject.”
• This resonates with psychoanalytic theories that explore how identity and subjectivity are shaped by external forces, including cultural narratives found in literature.

7. Hegemony Theory (Antonio Gramsci)

• Althusser builds on Gramsci’s concept of cultural hegemony, where the ruling class maintains power through consent rather than force. Althusser’s ISAs are central to understanding how literature and other cultural forms sustain hegemony by embedding dominant ideologies into everyday life.
• “What unifies their diversity is precisely this functioning… beneath the ruling ideology, which is the ideology of the ruling class.”
• Hegemony theory has been widely applied in literary studies to analyze how literature can either reinforce or challenge dominant cultural norms.

8. Post-Colonial Theory

• Althusser’s theories of ideology and interpellation have been adapted in post-colonial theory to examine how colonial powers use ideological state apparatuses (such as education and religion) to impose their worldview on colonized populations.
• “The Ideological State Apparatuses function by ideology, but they also function secondarily by repression.”
• Post-colonial critics use this framework to explore how literature reflects the ideological domination of colonized people and how they resist or internalize these ideologies.

9. Feminist Literary Criticism

• Althusser’s framework for understanding how ISAs perpetuate dominant ideologies has been influential in feminist literary criticism. Feminist theorists use his concept of interpellation to explore how literature shapes and reinforces gender roles and patriarchal ideology.
• “The family ISA… plays a considerable part in the reproduction of labor power.”
• Feminist critics apply this idea to analyze how literary texts reinforce or challenge the patriarchal structures that define gender relations.

Examples of Critiques Through “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser

Literary Work	Brief Synopsis	Althusserian Critique (Using ISAs and Ideology)
George Orwell’s 1984 (1949)	A dystopian novel about a totalitarian regime that controls every aspect of life, including thought, through surveillance, propaganda, and repression.	The Party in 1984 exemplifies the functioning of both RSAs (e.g., the Thought Police) and ISAs (e.g., the Ministry of Truth). The novel shows how ideology controls individuals by shaping their reality and subjectivity. The constant surveillance and manipulation of truth reflect how ISAs operate through ideology to reproduce obedience and submission to power.
Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847)	A coming-of-age story of an orphaned girl who becomes a governess and faces struggles in love, independence, and societal norms.	The school system, represented by Lowood Institution, serves as an ISA, shaping Jane’s sense of duty, morality, and submission to authority. Through education, Jane is interpellated as a subject within the Victorian class and gender system. The novel can be read as a critique of how women are ideologically conditioned to accept submissive roles in both family and work environments.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925)	A novel about the American Dream, wealth, and class disparities, set in the 1920s, where the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby seeks to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan.	The novel illustrates the American Dream as a dominant ideology, propagated by ISAs like the media and education, which interpellates individuals into believing in meritocracy and success through hard work. Gatsby’s tragic end critiques this ideology by showing the impossibility of transcending class boundaries, demonstrating how capitalist structures reproduce class hierarchies through ideology.
Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987)	A novel that explores the haunting legacy of slavery through the story of Sethe, an escaped slave, and the ghost of her dead daughter.	The novel reveals how slavery, as an RSA, violently maintained the exploitation of Black labor, while also exploring how post-slavery ISAs (like religion and family structures) attempt to reconstitute the identity of freed slaves. The ideology of freedom and redemption, imposed by post-Civil War America, masks the deep trauma and structural inequalities that continue to interpellate African Americans as subjects within a still-racist society.

Criticism Against “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser

Representative Quotations from “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser with Explanation

Quotation	Explanation
“Ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence.”	Althusser argues that ideology does not present reality as it is, but rather an “imaginary” version of it. This distorted version helps individuals make sense of their roles within society, but it also serves to mask the exploitation inherent in capitalist structures.
“All ideology hails or interpellates concrete individuals as concrete subjects.”	This introduces the concept of “interpellation,” where individuals are “hailed” by ideology and come to recognize themselves as subjects within it. Through this process, people accept their roles in society, believing they are acting freely when they are actually shaped by ideological forces.
“There is no ideology except by the subject and for subjects.”	Althusser argues that ideology only exists through subjects and for subjects. Ideology is central to the creation of subjectivity—it is by positioning people as subjects within a social structure that ideology operates, ensuring individuals conform to societal roles and expectations.
“The Repressive State Apparatus functions by violence, whereas the Ideological State Apparatuses function by ideology.”	This distinguishes between the state’s coercive tools (RSAs) like police and military, which enforce compliance through violence, and ISAs like schools, media, and religion, which enforce compliance more subtly through ideology, shaping beliefs and values.
“The reproduction of labour power requires not only a reproduction of its skills, but also, at the same time, a reproduction of its submission to the rules of the established order.”	Althusser points out that, in capitalist societies, labor power must be reproduced not only by teaching skills but also by inculcating obedience to the established order. This is how workers learn to accept their roles in the capitalist system, ensuring the system’s continuity.
“The school… drums into them… a certain amount of ‘know-how’ wrapped in the ruling ideology.”	The school, as a key Ideological State Apparatus, plays a critical role in transmitting skills necessary for labor, but also indoctrinates students with the dominant ideology. This ensures the reproduction of capitalist social relations by preparing individuals to accept their roles in the workforce and society.
“Ideology has no history.”	Althusser claims that ideology operates across all historical periods and is transhistorical. Ideologies may change in form, but the function of ideology—maintaining the existing social order and subject formation—remains constant throughout history.
“The individual is interpellated as a (free) subject in order that he shall submit freely to the commandments of the Subject.”	Althusser explains that individuals are made to believe they are free and autonomous, but this “freedom” is actually part of how they are controlled by ideology. Ideology allows people to willingly submit to the structures of power while thinking they are acting freely.
“The State Apparatus… contains the Government, the Administration, the Army, the Police, the Courts, the Prisons.”	This list illustrates the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA), which functions through coercive measures. These institutions enforce the laws of the state and maintain the power of the ruling class through the use of force or the threat of force.
“What unifies their diversity is precisely this functioning… beneath the ruling ideology, which is the ideology of ‘the ruling class.’”	Althusser explains that, despite the diversity of ISAs (schools, media, religion, etc.), they are unified by their ultimate function: to propagate the ideology of the ruling class. This ensures the continued domination of the capitalist system by shaping the consciousness of individuals in accordance with its needs.

Suggested Readings: “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” by Louis Althusser

1. LAMPERT, MATTHEW. “RESISTING IDEOLOGY: ON BUTLER’S CRITIQUE OF ALTHUSSER.” Diacritics, vol. 43, no. 2, 2015, pp. 124–47. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24810261. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.
2. Althusser, Louis, et al. “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses: (Notes towards an Investigation).” Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays, NYU Press, 2001, pp. 85–126. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qgh9v.9. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.
3. Sánchez, Raúl. “Composition’s Ideology Apparatus: A Critique.” JAC, vol. 21, no. 4, 2001, pp. 741–59. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20866444. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.
4. MONTAG, WARREN. “ALTHUSSER’S LENIN.” Diacritics, vol. 43, no. 2, 2015, pp. 48–66. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24810258. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.