Thread by @jessfromonline, the implication of althusser's "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" for marxist strategy [...]

the implication of althusser& #39;s "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" for marxist strategy is clear, imo:

ideology is (re)produced through institutions, and its not defeated by argument or reasoning, but by measuring those institutions then either seizing or smashing them https://twitter.com/jessfromonline/status/1331132141334384642">https://twitter.com/jessfromo...

https://twitter.com/jessfromonline/status/1331132141334384642

so much argument among marxists about ideology either treats it as meaningless (it& #39;s immaterial! rah rah let& #39;s do economism!) or as something to be overcome with Facts and Logic by Disproving and Arguing

both of these are errors

ideology is transmitted via institutions

changing people& #39;s ideology is a matter of seizing the institutions that produce & reproduce/instill ideology in people (and i realize this sounds dysoptian, but thats because the function of ideology is to make invisible the dystopia we live in: this is what& #39;s already happening)

a marxist approach to ideological struggle involves a thorough analysis of, as althusser would name them, the ideological state apparatuses (ISAs) through which ideology is transmitted, such that we can identify those that are A. most powerful B. most vulnerable and

with that analysis, wage class struggle within and upon those institutions, in the same way that we do at the point of production and with elements of the, as althusser calls it, the repressive state apparatus (police, military, etc.)

and i& #39;d venture so far as to say, with a somewhat gramscian influence here, that in industrialized nations (where the ISAs are more developed) the ISAs are actually the front lines of struggle and that victory against the RSA requires first victory in the ISAs

there will be no defeat of the traditionally conceived of "state", the parliament, the police, the military, etc. without prior victory in the ISAs, the schools especially, the families, the churches, the media ("communications", in althusser& #39;s terms)

but struggle in the ISAs is not one of presenting an alternative, more convincing ideology in the marketplace of ideas. it& #39;s not even making your own newspaper, though that could be an element. it& #39;s a holistic struggle to seize or replace the dominant institutions in each sector.

and achieving that requires the same sort of analysis (and unbelievable amounts of spadework) as any other form of revolutionary struggle. it requires figuring out: what are the enemy& #39;s most effective tools, where do we have the most leverage over them, and *push*

taking ideological struggle in schools seriously, for example, requires asking: what is the path to socialist control of schooling? this leads you to interesting reasoning, like:

do we start our own schools? well, unless they are free, they& #39;re unlikely to materially outcompete

public education, unless there& #39;s a school voucher system publicly subsidizing socialist schools. but obviously, an alliance with the right on school vouchers when the right has greater monetary resources means that in this moment, such an alliance would be strategically (not

morally) mistaken. so if we can& #39;t start our own schools, where do we attack? do we manufacture curricula and materials? do we do teacher training? interesting ideas, could be components. but what seems most prevalent to me is: given the high concentration of professionals from

the decaying middle class in the burgeoning socialist movement (a bloc very much including educators) and that education is one of the last unionized professions in this country, seemingly where we yield most power is labor-power within the public education system. the strategic

imperative, there, would be radicalized labor unions among teaching as a profession, which could attempt to wield power and & #39;seize& #39; in limited ways the existing state machinery for schooling, towards proletarian ends.

so this is a napkin-level example of such analysis, but its exemplary of what an althusserian, material understanding of ideology calls for

you don& #39;t win the war of ideology with better ideas: you win by analyzing material institutions that transmit them, and struggling for them

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