From Althusser’s perspective we are all subjects, predetermined to social beliefs beyond our control, centralized within the State setting we are unconsciously being conditioned. The State Apparatus being any governing body and socially acceptable beliefs being ideology. These societal beliefs were set into place to alienate us into believing this is the way to be and that no other way exists. By doing this, us subjects are easier to manipulate, to control. Through alienation the power of reproducing ideology takes place, which is what brainwashes the subjects into continuing its current belief system. By believing such system is enacted without question thus continues the reproduction of the Ideological Apparatus.
In examining the central forces of ideology Althusser breaks down the entire State Apparatus from a productive standpoint. He begins this investigation by first looking through the cycles of productive influences. He says that economist judge and evaluate from the perspective of the necessity to acquire revenue, such that is the stance of the capitalist. It is under the firm, which the inner workings of the capitalist extend, they have no insight into the actual conditions of the production, because they only care about their own output and no one else’s. Their output depends upon supply, and the reproductive process to continue the demand of the supply.
To reproduce the labor power, the firm secures their ability to survive they continue to keep labor power going; they continue to stay in business. This process, which takes no place within the firm, takes place to further production through labor. Wages are what is used to keep the workers, who are in charge of producing, coming back day in and day out. Wages are in no way related to how the labor is, whether it be good, bad, hard working, how much is produced, etc. It is not a set worth. The lowest wage possible to continue production is what keeps labor power going through wages. Althusser continues on to connect the competence of the labor due to apprenticeships or education and later to ideology hidden within such education. Education splits classes leading some to blue color and the other into management, perhaps one day up into the superstructure. The educated are connected to ideology, which is passed through certain educational institutions.
Continuing to recite reproductive qualities into the relations of production Althusser then defines different layers embedded within the societal structuring. Breaking society into different levels based upon their play within the ‘social whole”, Althusser citing “Marist conception”, depicts the infrastructure and superstructure of a society. The infrastructure he delineates to be the “economic base”, the working class that supports the superstructure. The superstructure, which is broken down into politico-legal (the legislative system, as well as the State) and ideology (politics, religions, beliefs, values) holds at the top of the equation. As the lowest common denominator to production the worker is placed within infrastructure then the family apparatus, the church apparatus, the educational apparatus, etc. Each facet of a subject’s life leads to a new pre-conditioned apparatus. The infrastructure is a completely relevant existence due to the fact that the superstructure could not exist without the later.
Splitting the dimensions of “Marxist theory of the State” into two more realms of thought, Althusser adds a new degree to the progression of the repressive state. The State Power as well as the State Apparatus Althusser believes should be broken down even further into Repressive State Apparatus and Ideological State Apparatus. Both deal with reproductive cycles of regenerating their own conditioning, continuing their own such belief system but in different ways. The Repressive State Apparatus differs from the Ideological State Apparatus through the fact that the Repressive State Apparatus functions solely through “violence”, while the Ideological State Apparatus functions predominantly through “ideology”. The Ideological State Apparatus consists of such “institutions” as media, church, school, political systems, and family. While the Repressive State Apparatus, is apparent within the public systems of violence such as the police or military.
So we the subject are first put through a brainwash of conditioning through existing within a State Power, we then work within the Infrastructure/Superstructure, depending on education and ideology which we were meant to believe in through the growth and upbringing of our lives. We then continue such ideology through the private and public sectors of our lives, thus continuing the reproductive qualities in producing a nation of people that think, breathe, eat and do the same thing.
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