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A review by carist
On Ideology by Louis Althusser
challenging
informative
slow-paced
5.0
“[World outlooks] need only be ‘interpreted’ to discover the reality of their world behind their imaginary representation of that world” (36).
Althusser covers a wide range of topics in this work, from repressive and ideological state apparatuses, to historical materialism, to Stalin. His Marxist perspective is situated unmistakably within the structuralism of the 1960s, although his arguments about ideology and its relationship to power still hold up well today. Despite its commitment to total history, this is really helpful for understanding later work on both Marxism and the sociology of knowledge.
Althusser covers a wide range of topics in this work, from repressive and ideological state apparatuses, to historical materialism, to Stalin. His Marxist perspective is situated unmistakably within the structuralism of the 1960s, although his arguments about ideology and its relationship to power still hold up well today. Despite its commitment to total history, this is really helpful for understanding later work on both Marxism and the sociology of knowledge.