Marxism conceives society as overdetermined relatively autonomous levels, not a simple unity

Evidence

Whether or not we try to develop an adequate Marxist theory of ideology from this point, it seems to be the case that the problem of ideology presents us with a paradigm instance of Marxist theory as such , what Althusser has called the necessity—and the difficulty—of holding on to “both ends of the chain” at once: the relative autonomy of a region (e.g., ideology) and its “determination in the last instance” (i.e., the determinacy of ideology by other instances, and, in the last instance, by the economic). It is the necessity to hold fast to the latter protocol which has, from time to time, sanctioned a tendency to collapse the levels of a special formation—especially, to collapse “ideas” or ideology into “the base” (narrowly defined as “the economic”). On the other hand, it is the requirement to explore the difficult terrain of “relative autonomy” (of ideology) which has given the field of ideology its awkward openness. It is through this gap—to borrow a recent metaphor of Althusser’s—that the “pup” of semiology continues to “slip between the legs” of a Marxist theory of ideology. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 371 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Marxism reads social formations as overdetermined unities with relatively autonomous levels; Marx conceived social unity as constructed out of difference, not identity; Marxism is not economic reductionism and requires attending to ideas in their own terms (+11 more)

Related

• Marxism reads social formations as overdetermined unities with relatively autonomous levels (similarity 0.97)
• Marxism must hold determination in the last instance without falling into absolute autonomy (similarity 0.95)
• Marxism is not economic reductionism and requires attending to ideas in their own terms (similarity 0.93)
• Marxist theory requires holding both relative autonomy and economic determinacy at once (similarity 0.90)
• The theory of ideology must hold both relative autonomy and economic determination simultaneously. (similarity 0.88)
• Economic structures are necessary but not sufficient to explain political and ideological features (similarity 0.87)
• Superstructures may require relative autonomy to function at advanced capitalist stages. (similarity 0.87)
• Marxist analysis needs both material grounding and historical specificity to avoid twin errors (similarity 0.87)
• Society operates as a complex formation structured in dominance with relative institutional autonomy (similarity 0.86)
• Economic determinacy operates through overdetermination, not simple mechanical causation (similarity 0.86)
• The core problem is reconciling economic determination with superstructural autonomy (similarity 0.85)
• Individual and social liberation must be waged together but not assumed interdependent (similarity 0.85)
• Full autonomy of levels fails to explain complex social formation unity. (similarity 0.85)
• Attending seriously to religious ideology saved Hill’s Marxism from economic reductionism (similarity 0.85)
• Marx conceived social unity as constructed out of difference, not identity (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Marxism reads social formations as overdetermined unities with relatively autonomous levels #corroborates (0.95)
• Marxist theory requires holding both relative autonomy and economic determinacy at once #corroborates (0.70) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 371
• Marx conceived social unity as constructed out of difference, not identity #expands (0.60)
• Marxism must hold determination in the last instance without falling into absolute autonomy #qualifies (0.60)
• Marxism is not economic reductionism and requires attending to ideas in their own terms #expands (0.50)