Ideology

Conceptual Overview

To understand the relevance of ideology for organization studies, it is first necessary to trace the origins of the term in social theorizing. The term ideology was first used by Destutt de Tracy at the turn of the 19th century to denote a “science of ideas” that could be employed to discover the “truth.” The most well-known contribution to the ideology literature comes from Karl Marx. For Marx, ideology comes into existence with the development of a class-based society, which divides those who control economic resources (the bourgeoisie) from those whose are subordinated because they only have their labor to sell (the proletariat). Marx proposed a base/superstructure model of society, where the base refers to the means of production (e.g., technology, capital, materials). Ideology is part of the superstructure, which also includes religion, as well as the political and legal systems. In orthodox Marxism, the base determines the superstructure, meaning that ideology is determined by those who control the economic resources and is employed by the ruling group to further their interests. Marx viewed the ideologies of the ruling class as false and misleading because they served their own narrow interests.

The orthodox Marxist approach to ideology has been vigorously criticized for being grounded in an essentialist and deterministic conception of society. This critique has two aspects: the base/superstructure epiphenomenon and the notion of false consciousness. The first criticism is that ideological forms are seen to be directly determined by the economic base, with critics stating that social life cannot be explained purely in terms of people's position within a class structure. Antonio Gramsci rejected this determinism and provides an alternative understanding of ideology based on hegemony, which refers to a system of domination that elicits consent. Gramsci explained that in gaining hegemony, dominant social groups define the parameters of what can and cannot be said and who is considered legitimate and right. This “common sense” is ideology and is produced by agencies such as churches, schools, and the mass media.

Extending Gramsci's work, Louis Althusser sought to address problems with the Marxist theory of ideology as false consciousness. An example of false consciousness from a Marxist perspective would be the way in which the ideology of the market hides the fact that the production of goods involves the exploitation of labor. This concept is criticized for its objectivist assumption of the existence of a truth that lies behind ideology that agents can somehow access to become enlightened. Althusser argued that ideology plays a pivotal role in securing the subjective conditions required for the continuation of capitalism. Ideology interpellates or hails individuals as subjects, inducing people to identify with the dominant ideology. Ideology is a powerful force because the socially constructed nature of our subjectivity slips from view, making the dominant ideology appear pregiven and natural, and producing an illusion of freedom and self-determination.

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