In “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses,” Louis Althusser argues that Karl Marx’s work is primarily concerned with the analysis of history and the material conditions of economic production.
Althusser argues that Marx’s theory of ideology is not a theory about how people are deceived by their own beliefs, but rather it is a theory about why and how historical changes occur. People are not duped by false consciousness; rather, they are all too aware of their own conditions and oppressions. Althusser says that people can only be deceived if they have no means to express themselves; in other words, if they do not have access to any means of communication or expression, then they cannot discern the truth from untruths.
Moreover, Althusser argues that Marx’s work reflects a shift from philosophy to science. He suggests that when Marx was young and writing about history, he was still influenced by Hegelian idealism — an approach to understanding history that focuses on ideas rather than material conditions. However, as he matured as a scholar and historian, his focus shifted from ideas to economics. In other words, Althusser believes that Marx’s later works reflect a shift from idealism to materialism.
Philosopher goes on to argue that Marx’s theory of ideology is best understood through his famous example of religion in The German Ideology:
Religious alienation as an expression and consequence of money-mediated human relationships: “As soon as someone possesses another person in his power […] he refers all his physical and spiritual needs to him.”
