Marxist Analysis

Ideology

Ideology is broadly conceived as a cultural group’s perceptions about the way things are and/or ought to be based on taken-for-granted norms and values. [Page 910]Ideologies are created, reinforced, and/or transformed through communication practices, events, interactions, and texts. A Marxist analysis focuses specifically on ideology with regard to materialism and consumerism. When the ideology of a dominant cultural group is both privileged and taken-for-granted as normal and desirable, the ideologies of all other people and groups are simultaneously disempowered. Thus, a Marxist analysis examines (a) the ideology of materialism and consumerism, (b) whether and in what ways it may be privileged as normal and desirable, and (c) the implications of materialism and consumerism on people and society.

Hegemony

Antonio Gramsci is credited for coining the term hegemony to account for all the everyday communication discourses, practices, events, and texts that privilege a dominant group’s ideology over that of other groups. Hegemony is created and maintained by “othering.” Othering is the devaluing consequence of hegemony that those perceived as not belonging to the empowered group are both different and less desirable. Particularly important to hegemony is the fact that even those who are subordinated by the dominant ideology tend to willingly accept it as common sense. In other words, disempowered people and groups essentially participate in perpetuating their own oppression. A Marxist analysis unpacks how a hegemonic ideology of materialism and consumerism simultaneously privileges wealth and oppresses those perceived as not having wealth by othering them.

A critical element regarding the hegemony of materialism and consumerism is perception. When people and groups are perceived as having wealth whether or not they actually do, they tend to enjoy the privilege of empowerment. In other words, someone who drives a BMW, wears designer clothes, and lives in a penthouse may be perceived as wealthy and, thus, empowered even if they actually have debts that are impossible to pay. A Marxist analysis reveals how hegemonic ideology is created and maintained, as well as the implications of it on people and societies. In doing so, it may make room for alternative ideologies regarding materialism and consumerism to be both heard and valued.

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