False consciousness  

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:"[[Žižek]] follows [[Louis Althusser]] in jettisoning the Marxist equation: "ideology equals [[false consciousness]]." Ideology, to all intents and purposes, ''is'' consciousness. Ideology does not "mask" the real—one cannot achieve true consciousness. This being the case, post-ideological postmodern "knowingness"—the [[wink]] wink [[nudge]] nudge [[cynicism]] and [[irony]] of postmodern cultural production—does not reveal the truth, the real, the hard kernel. Knowing that we are being "lied" to is hardly the stuff of revolution when ideology is not, and never has been, simply a matter of consciousness (cynicism, irony, and so on), of subject positions, but is the very stuff of everyday praxis itself. The cynics and ironists, not to mention the deconstructionists ''et al.'', may know that reality is an "ideological construction"—some have even read their Lacan and Derrida—but in their daily practice, caught up in an apparently unalterable world of exchange-values (capital), they do their part to sustain that construction in any case. As Marx would say, it is their very life process that is ideological, what they know, or what they think they know, being neither here nor there. The postmodern cultural artifact—the "critique," the "incredulity"—is itself merely a symptom/commodity/fetish. Thus has capital commodified even the cynicism that purports to unmask its "reality," to "emancipate."" --[[Sholem Stein]] :"[[Žižek]] follows [[Louis Althusser]] in jettisoning the Marxist equation: "ideology equals [[false consciousness]]." Ideology, to all intents and purposes, ''is'' consciousness. Ideology does not "mask" the real—one cannot achieve true consciousness. This being the case, post-ideological postmodern "knowingness"—the [[wink]] wink [[nudge]] nudge [[cynicism]] and [[irony]] of postmodern cultural production—does not reveal the truth, the real, the hard kernel. Knowing that we are being "lied" to is hardly the stuff of revolution when ideology is not, and never has been, simply a matter of consciousness (cynicism, irony, and so on), of subject positions, but is the very stuff of everyday praxis itself. The cynics and ironists, not to mention the deconstructionists ''et al.'', may know that reality is an "ideological construction"—some have even read their Lacan and Derrida—but in their daily practice, caught up in an apparently unalterable world of exchange-values (capital), they do their part to sustain that construction in any case. As Marx would say, it is their very life process that is ideological, what they know, or what they think they know, being neither here nor there. The postmodern cultural artifact—the "critique," the "incredulity"—is itself merely a symptom/commodity/fetish. Thus has capital commodified even the cynicism that purports to unmask its "reality," to "emancipate."" --[[Sholem Stein]]
-'''False consciousness''' or '''false needs''' is the [[Marxist]] [[thesis]] the [[Culture industry|Culture industries]] cultivate [[false need]]s; that is, needs created and satisfied by capitalism. [[True]] needs, in contrast, are [[freedom]], [[creativity]], or [[genuine]] [[happiness]]. [[Marcuse]] was the first to demarcate true needs from [[false need]]s.+'''False consciousness''' or '''false needs''' is the [[Marxist]] [[thesis]] the [[Culture industry|Culture industries]] cultivate [[false need]]s; that is, needs created and satisfied by capitalism. [[True]] needs, in contrast, are [[freedom]], [[creativity]], or [[genuine]] [[happiness]]. [[Herbert Marcuse]] was the first to demarcate true needs from [[false need]]s.
== See also == == See also ==

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"Žižek follows Louis Althusser in jettisoning the Marxist equation: "ideology equals false consciousness." Ideology, to all intents and purposes, is consciousness. Ideology does not "mask" the real—one cannot achieve true consciousness. This being the case, post-ideological postmodern "knowingness"—the wink wink nudge nudge cynicism and irony of postmodern cultural production—does not reveal the truth, the real, the hard kernel. Knowing that we are being "lied" to is hardly the stuff of revolution when ideology is not, and never has been, simply a matter of consciousness (cynicism, irony, and so on), of subject positions, but is the very stuff of everyday praxis itself. The cynics and ironists, not to mention the deconstructionists et al., may know that reality is an "ideological construction"—some have even read their Lacan and Derrida—but in their daily practice, caught up in an apparently unalterable world of exchange-values (capital), they do their part to sustain that construction in any case. As Marx would say, it is their very life process that is ideological, what they know, or what they think they know, being neither here nor there. The postmodern cultural artifact—the "critique," the "incredulity"—is itself merely a symptom/commodity/fetish. Thus has capital commodified even the cynicism that purports to unmask its "reality," to "emancipate."" --Sholem Stein

False consciousness or false needs is the Marxist thesis the Culture industries cultivate false needs; that is, needs created and satisfied by capitalism. True needs, in contrast, are freedom, creativity, or genuine happiness. Herbert Marcuse was the first to demarcate true needs from false needs.

See also




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