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, Gramsci, Chomsky, 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.
