Harry Targ
Karl Marx in The
German Ideology argued in the 1840s that the ideas of the ruling class are
the ruling ideas. Almost one hundred
years later theorists from the Frankfort School elaborated on Marx’s idea by
developing the theory of the “cultural apparatus.” German sociologist Max
Horkheimer wrote:
One
function of the entire cultural apparatus at any given period has been to
internalize in men [and women] of subordinate position the idea of a necessary domination of some men
over others, as determined by the course of history down to the present time.
As a result and as a continually renewed condition of this cultural apparatus,
the belief in authority is one of the driving forces, sometimes, productive,
sometimes obstructive, of human history (quoted in John Bellamy Foster and
Robert W. McChesney, “The Cultural Apparatus of Monopoly Capital,” Monthly Review, July/August, 2013).
Ideas do not spring from the air nor do they arrive
untarnished by social reality from Gods and religion. No, as suggested by Marx,
Horkheimer, Foster, McChesney, and other theorists, ideas are weapons in the
continuous struggle for economic and political domination. Herbert Marcuse
added that the “necessary domination” over people comes from pleasure and
enticements in addition to threats of force. If the image of pleasure does not
mollify the people, then threats of
impending pain can be transmitted from parts of the “cultural apparatus”
(education systems, mass media, the internet, patterns of child rearing,
religious institutions), thus legitimizing the application of force.
As we prepare for a new year with hope for positive
social change, it is worth reflecting on three central concepts communicated
through and justified by the “cultural apparatus:” markets, police, and the war
system. Markets offer the image of growing pleasure. Economists and
politicians reiterate over and over again that economic development and
political stability require the free flow of markets-- buyers and sellers,
investors and speculators, workers and bosses, and the commodification of
everything. The idea of markets permeates political discussion and is presented
to publics as intimately connected to democracy, freedom, and cultural advance.
Markets may serve as one mechanism among many to distribute goods and services
but are not, as the ideologues suggest, the fundamental way of organizing
society. But we hear over and over the promise that markets will bring to all
humanity. And market fundamentalists add that government programs, visions of
the public good, and community constitute a threat to markets and ultimately human
betterment. On television, the internet, in schools, and everywhere in the
cultural apparatus people are encouraged to consume, enjoy, think primarily of
themselves, and remain obedient to the ongoing order.
According to the cultural apparatus not all people,
because of their own shortcomings, will be beneficiaries of the pleasures of
the market. Consequently societies require the construction of police forces to maintain order. In
societies where the threat of violence exists, police are necessary to protect
the citizenry from the violent, the crazed, and the hateful who see race or
exploitation behind their misery. The cultural apparatus communicates images of
violence and mayhem in society such that people are convinced that police and
prisons are the only institutions that save us from a brutal “state of nature,”
based on killing, rape, and robbery. General sentiment, reinforced by the
criminal justice system, suggests that for majorities of the US population
police should be free to act as they choose.
Finally, politicians, pundits, security analysts,
and many scholars point out that human nature is flawed and as a result there
will always be wars. During the brief periods when the United States is not
actively engaged in war, policy makers ruminate on how the United States must
be prepared for the “next” war. Visions of a peaceful world are beyond the
scope of the economic and political system because there are aggressive,
greedy, and crazed nations and terrorists in the larger world.
In sum, markets,
the police, and the war system constitute key concepts
embedded in the cultural apparatus and are central to the interests of the
ruling class. The formulation of these key concepts is left purposefully vague here
as is the description of the cultural apparatus because every aware participant
in the political process can fill in detailed examples. Whether one “consumes”
film, videos, computer games, music, television, or print media, examples of
the messages about the legitimacy of markets, police, and the war system are
readily available. The same self-reflection can be made about the level of
centralized control of the cultural institutions that shape peoples’
consciousness.
Therefore, while global corporations, banks, police
forces, and militaries constitute material sources of power and control, they
are maintained also by core ideas about markets, police, and the war system. In
short, ideas matter. Transforming society therefore is about changing ideas and
who distributes them as well as the economic and military institutions
themselves.
