Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses

Althusser’s most influential contribution to the Marxist theory of

ideology was his essay, ‘Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses’
comprising extracts from a longer work on the reproduction of
production relations. In this essay, Althusser addresses the question of
how societies reproduce the relations of production by which they
function. The question arises because production relations have always
been relations of exploitation. How is it that the exploited allow
themselves to continue to be exploited? In answering this question,
Althusser develops the concept of the Ideological State Apparatus. In
Marxist theory, the State is thought of first and foremost as the ‘State
apparatus’, that is, as the sum of the institutions by which the ruling
class maintains its economic dominance – the government, the civil
service, the courts, the police, the prisons, and the army, and so on.
Through a symptomatic reading of the history of Marxist political
practice – in which, he argues, the State has always been treated as a
more complex reality than Marxist theory has made explicit – Althusser
claims that the State apparatus in fact consists of two overlapping but
distinct sets of institutions. On the one hand, he argues, it consists of all
that Marxist theory has so far recognized as part of the State apparatus
– the repressive institutions through which the ruling class enforces its
rule as such. Althusser calls this the ‘Repressive State Apparatus’ He
writes:

“The State Apparatus (SA) contains: the Government, the

Administration, the Army, the Police, the Courts, the Prisons, etc.,
which constitute what I shall in future call the Repressive State
Apparatus. Repressive suggests that the State Apparatus in question
‘functions by violence’ – at least ultimately (since repression, e.g.
administrative repression, may take non-physical forms). On the other
hand, Althusser argues, the State also consists of what he calls the
‘Ideological State Apparatuses’ (ISAs). These are apparently distinct and
specialized institutions such as the following:

• the religious ISA (the system of the different churches)

• the educational ISA (the system of the different public and private
schools)
• the family ISA
• the legal ISA
• the political ISA
• the trade union ISA
• the communications ISA (press, radio and television etc.)
• the cultural ISA (literature, the arts, sports etc.).
Although Althusser does not discuss each of these ISAs in detail, we can
easily elaborate and understand that how these various ISAs work.
The religious ISA (the system of the different churches):
The religious ISA works through the different religious institutions
present in the society. Each religion has a set of beliefs and ideas which
they preach and through the process of ‘Interpellation’ individuals do
subscribe to those ideas and becomes subjects of the dominant religious
ideology which the religion institution may preach. The set of values,
morals and virtues as taught by the religious institutions alienates that
individual from his or her real conditions. The use of myth from sacred
text which evokes the notions of honor and morality conditions an
individual so that he is not able to question the authority or rise in
rebellion. Moreover, religious teachings asks one to be content with
whatever one gets and that it is his or her fate which decides how
economically or socially successful one will become irrespective of skill
or talent. Different religion ideologies also preaches the path of sacrifice
and penance and how it helps an individual in the long run, thus, forever
alienating him or her from the real conditions thereby reproducing the
conditions of production for the capitalist ruling class. It is important to
note that the Church was the center for all ‘revolutions’ at an early point
of time as evidenced during the Renaissance and the Reformation.
The educational ISA:
According notes, a dominant social order would not survive if it relied
only on force, and he traces the rising influence of schools as the
dominant ISA in modern society. Schools have supplanted the church in
this role, instilling in students the habits that will make them productive
workers in modern capitalist societies, so that they show up at the
factory or office day after day without question. One may argue that why
is the school (educational ISA) singled out by Althusser as the dominant
of all the ISAs. The answer to that is the fact that school is one such
institution which is able to have an effect on the individual from a very
early age and that too for long hours- 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, to be
exact. The schools not only teach the basic skills of reading, writing and
calculations but also the notions of discipline and ‘correct’ behavior thus
from a very early stage the proper mindset of a suitable labor is
developed. Moreover, the educational apparatus ‘ejects’ at every stage a
group of individuals who are best suited to fulfill specific roles in a
capitalist society and at an age of 16 most leave to become workers.

The Family ISA:

Families serve multiple functions in a society and indeed it is a place
where dominant cultural ideology or capitalist values are internalized.
Certain values and ideas taught at the family helps to propagate the
capitalist values. Ideas which may be patriarchal or racist are presented
in a family as facts and they are seldom questioned. Thus, from an early
age an individual can be conditioned to become a subject of the
dominant ideology as he learns the tenets of it from his family itself.
The legal ISA:
The legal system of a state makes sure that the ruling ideology is well
protected as it defends the constitution formulated by the ruling class.
The legal institutions protect the capitalist ideologies through laws
which in effect prohibit the people from breaking rules laid down by the
capitalist society.

The political ISA

The political parties which hold power makes sure that the masses
subscribe to their ideology by extensive discourses(both written and
oral). They leave no stones unturned when attacking the opposite
ideologies and add to the creation of false consciousness of security and
equality through lies and false promises. The dominant ideology is well
protected and guided by the different political parties through constant
campaigning and advertisements.
The trade union ISA
The trade Union ISA directly deals with the working class in proving a
false sense of security and justice. The trade unions cast an illusion to
the participants by false information and positivism.
The communications ISA (press, radio and television etc.)
It is the medium of various other apparatuses through which the
dominant ideology is preached. The media is controlled by the ruling
class in such a manner that the truth or reality is hidden and the media
itself becomes the apparatus as it bombards the subjects with false
information and reassurance of the dominant ideology.

The cultural ISA (literature, the arts, sports etc.).

The cultural ISA has various institutions which work together to alienate
the individual subjects. Through literature, arts and sports the
individual subjects are misled and misinformed thereby guarding the
dominant ideology thereby the dominant class.