On Raymond Williams Thought Of Cultural Materialism

Based on Critique of the British cultural tradition of elitism and vulgar economic determinism of Marxism and referenced the idea of a large number of West Marxist theorists ,Raymond Williams made "cultural materialism" thinking, which made him the important neo-Marxist literature and art theorist in British after the World War II .In this paper, I systematically finished, analysed and interpretated Williams's "cultural materialism" thinking from the perspective of the generation background, theoretical sources and ideological content, and further to verify and analyse of the meaning and limits of this contemporary thinking .This article holds that through re-understanding of Marxist historical materialism, Williams reshaped of their own culture around the interaction between the culture and society. He understand cultural in the context of material conditions and material production , and stressed that culture is the culture as a society whole theory, the object of his study is the relationship as between constitute of the society whole way life, which highlight the integrity, practical and dynamic cultural. Specifically, this idea is completed through the amendment of "foundation - superstructure" proposition, analysis of the idea of "culture materialism" and its original interpretation of structures of feeling and the concept of cultural hegemony. It is also based on "cultural materialism" thinking proposed by Williams for needful and reasonable, we can get to the unique significance and value of Williams "cultural materialism", in particular the fact that he was a Marxist theorist of culture contributions can be seen.