Post 10/21

This weeks reading in the book A Critical and Cultural Theory Reader, we learn about the concept and the idea of ideology. The simplest definition of ideology is a system of ideas or beliefs, one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy. This is the most general definition and the first part of our reading reminded me of what we are currently learning in my SOC 311 class called Ideology and Mass Culture. We look at the ideology of the American Dream and how class is divided among the population.

We talked about the upper or the super class’s ideas are the ones that society follows. As explained by Marx and Engels, “The class which has the means of mental production at its disposal, consequently, also controls the means of mental production, so that the ideas of the those to lack the means of mental production are on the whole subject to it” (Marx and Engels, 39). People in lower classes often feel like they are being taken advantage of because of the fact that the top 1% of our population owns a lot of the country’s wealth. But society does not challenge this because the idea of “there’s nothing we can do about it.” The ideology of the American Dream consists of working hard and if people are challenging the way big corporations and media companies run their business, then fear sets in that they might lose their job. The idea is set in our minds that we must work to live the American Dream and the idea of working hard comes from big industries that needed a lot of work to make as much money as they are making today.

On my honor I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed, any unauthorized assistance on this blog.