Ideological

From MarxWiki

The term ideology can be found throughout Marxist and Cultural Theorist texts. It refers to the following: A body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture. A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system.

Ideology functions on an unconscious level, presenting as "natural" systems or cultural objects which are, in fact, products of a historical process. Ideology is cloaked beneath the presumption of "common sense," and organizes material, everyday life into a ready-made schematic. The transferred beliefs that are accepted by the oppressed parties are also known as the "Pedagogy of the Oppressed". Example: High schools promote college as the ultimate goal, thus throwing students into a cycle of "high culture" knowledge which is followed by a capitalistic career and a capitalistic lifestyle.

(Marx, Communist Manifesto, German Ideology; Althusser, Ideology and the Ideological State Apparatuses; Stuart Hall, Signification, Representation, Ideology; Mouffe, Hegemony and Ideology; Gramsci, Selections from Prison Notebooks)