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GUSTAV
THE AMBIVALENCE
A. WETTER
OF THE MARXIST
CONCEPT
OF IDEOLOGY*
Marxism-Leninism
defines
'ideology'
consciousness
to this ambivalence
which
is true.
of the Marxist
means
sciousness
rank as 'essentially' false while others are false only under certain
is there this ambivalence?
circumstances,
namely in class society. Why
Was it the case for Marx? If not, is it nonetheless a consistent development
of his thought?
One can find an answer to this question only through a short analysis
of Marx' original line of thought. The relation between thought and being
forms
of
178
GUSTAV
A. WETTER
But theory still has a positive role: the proletariat finds its spiritual
in it; and it becomes a material force as soon as it lays hold of
weapon2
this 'realization' of philosophy
the masses.3 However,
already implies its
world.
remains
qualifies
and The
starting
the final
contains
of alienation
On
leads to a final
state.
the relation
It is against this background
that one must understand
as formulated by Marx
in this period.
between being and consciousness,
The basic situation is described as follows: "Thought and being ... are
of course different, but also together in unity."5 This is explained by a
one
between man and animal. The animal is immediately
comparison
man
his
with his vital activity; for
the latter is the object of
consciousness;
he is it and knows it.6 Being is, however,
clearly primary in this unity.
in the first developmental
While
recognizes
phase of his thought Marx
a positive role for philosophy,
henceforth he repeats again and again that
the contradictions
in reality are to be overcome not through solution in
thought but only through practice.7
This unity of thought and being is disturbed by alienation. Conscious
ness no longer directly overlies being; it becomes
illusory. This illusory
in religion (defined in The Holy Family finds expression
consciousness
- as a
as in Engels' Anti-D?hring
'phantastic reflection') above all, in
but also in philosophy
in general,
in law, state, family,
metaphysics,
morality,
science,
art,
'etc.'.
This means
religion,
THE MARXIST
tures of alienated
the conception
consciousness
consciousness.
179
CONCEPT OF IDEOLOGY
All
the relevant
assertions
are based
on
being-for-itself
as the interpreted
attains
its
science and
this conception
of the relation between consciousness
and
Alongside
one
other
assertions
which
sound
like
the
finds
earlier
being
conception
of the independent role of theory in the development
of reality. Even in
a greater role is attributed to consciousness
than that of reflec
tion of being. In his Paris manuscripts
Marx
says of political economy
that, on the one hand, it is to be considered a product of industry as it
alienation
between
in The German
relations
of production
as 'intercourse'
Ideology
of production. A further transformation
it was the proletarian
revolution. While
as leading to the
revolution
was
which
Aufhebung
absolutely central toMarx'
earlier thought, Marx now talks about revolutionary
upheavals which
recur
in history. The dialectical triadicity, which earlier ap
periodically
of human
self-alienation
180
GUSTAV
A. WETTER
peared
which is resolved
of production,
have been a form of the dialectic which
and relations
would
consists
in putting
in revolution.
The
result
development
within
Com
munist
Here
again
nothing other than conscious being."14 Being once again has primacy:
which determines
life but life which determines
"It is not consciousness
is the passage in The German Ideology which is almost
of 1859.
formulation
no longer plays a role in these
'alienation'
the
of
concept
Although
a 'false' consciousness
we
still
find
of
which is
the
writings,
conception
consciousness"15
identical with
conditioned
philosophy,
the condition
the classic
in the division
work.16
diction
between
Even in this period one can detect an influence of the earlier conception
of theory as a positive historical
force. Once in The German Ideology
can occasionally
Marx asserts that consciousness
outstrip empirical rela
tions.19 In the Theses on Feuerbach Marx reproaches previous philosophy
having simply explained reality while the real task is to change it.
In The Misery
Communists
of Philosophy and The Communist Manifesto,
with
THE MARXIST
181
CONCEPT OF IDEOLOGY
movement"20;
of an insight
makes
conception
Later Marxist
philosophy
it does not
at this point.
the Marxian
in two
goes beyond
position
limit the ability to have a true consciousness,
to the theoreticians
of human self-alienation,
respects. First,
even before the overcoming
of earlier social for
of the proletariat. The forms of social consciousness
a relative - if not absolute mations have, under certain circumstances,
Recent Marxist-Leninist
validity.
forms
doctrine
of earlier
social
admits
formations
certain
in the
elements
of
superstructural
generally human validity, i.e., forms of true consciousness.
Is this a deviation from Marx? It seems to me that it is rather a consistent
line of thought. For, in The German
of the Marxian
further development
a
notes
Marx
contradiction
between social consciousness
that
Ideology
arises when there occurs a
and social being, i.e., a 'false' consciousness,
between social relations and the forces of production.
It
of the latter contradiction
follows,
then, that the overcoming
the illusory character of social consciousness.
One thus has the
contradiction
logically
removes
after revolu
possibility of justifying the appearance of true consciousness,
tion has eliminated the contradiction
between social relations and forces
and before a new contradiction
of production
a
new
of
social formation).
ginning
The
Marx
false
forms
has arisen
(i.e., at the be
second
of social
consciousness
(morality,
philosophy,
religion,
etc.)? or
182
GUSTAV
A. WETTER
this demarcation
line was also drawn
philosophy
same
as
in
the
Marx.
Here
place
vertically,
by
only religion is
an
as
form
of
social
false
while philos
consciousness,
essentially
regarded
are
and the other superstructural
domains
false only in
ophy, morality
In later Marxist
but not
class
Can
of the consciousness
his own
line of thought?
dialectic in the third period, with
- as we have
offers the possibility
revolutions,
of the historical
its periodically
recurring
seen - of justifying
the
even in earlier social formations,
occurrence of true consciousness
there
is no reason why this should be limited to one form of consciousness.
not according
to
the forms of consciousness
Marx himself distinguished
to the specific character of
the criterion of true and false but according
within the only form of consciousness
he
each.22 Even he distinguishes
as
true
nature
and
the
science
of
what
still
man)
recognized
belongs
(i.e.,
to alienation
impossible
social
national
(e.g., bourgeois
to see why the same would
consciousness.
What
THE MARXIST
CONCEPT OF IDEOLOGY
and Marxists,
183
which
remains
REFERENCES
*
der Kommunistischen
Partei,
p. 598.
in Werke,