A Comparative Study Of Althusser And Zizek’s Ideology Theory

The issue of ideology is the fundamental issue of the whole western Marxist and post-Marxist theories.Although some scholars may dismiss it as a false “collective imagination” and loudly claim that ideology(false consciousness)has ended,it must be noted that the connotation of ideology is constantly expanding.This expansion is not the result of the concept of “ideology” with cultural concepts and contemporary concepts.On the contrary,“ideology” itself,as a floating signifier(this means that the signifier is arbitrary),is the result of a variety of cultural concepts and contemporary concepts fighting for “hegemony”(this concept comes from Antonio Gramsci).This means that ideologies in general are not ending,but are being created into new and elusive forms by their creators and beneficiaries.After Marx,there appeared two representative ideological theorists,namely Althusser and Zizek,who tried to enrich and innovate the Marx’s theory of Ideology with new text resources and analytical methods.It is not only a scientific issue which need to study and research,but also helpful to understand Marx’s classical ideology theory and to try to expound and capture the ideology which is changing constantly.Strictly speaking,they are not contemporaries.However,Faced with the same problem,the two have both the same viewpoint and differences.Concretely,Althusser’s ideological theory is the rethinking and re-application of Blaise Pascal’s philosophy.It was with the help of Pascal that Althusser further proposed the proposition of ideological materialization.Similarly,on the premise of Althusser’s ideological theory,Zizek put forward his new cynicism by quoting criticism of German philosopher Sloterdijk.In respects of text reading method,Althusser,while absorbing Lacan’s concept of “symptom”(symptomatic),creatively excavated Marx’s “second reading method”(symptomatic reading),and came up with this viewpoint that both perceptual and rational knowledge have a productive nature.Zizek borrowed Hegel’s “Logic” to integrate and change Althusser’s viewpoint into“textual productiveness”.In respects of the content and characteristics of ideology,Althusser explained that ideology has materiality and automatic submission.On the basis of Althusser’s viewpoint,Zizek further combined with the new social reality to find that ideology is not only externalizing but also re-internalizing,which makes ideology enter the third stage,that is,the stage in which ideology and reality are difficult to distinguish.For that reason,a huge “middle class” and proletariat began to adopt a cynical to the new ideology and new environment;In respects of the operating mechanism of ideology,Althusser believed that ideology is sufficient for the formation of the subject,however,Zizek believed that it was the pre-ideological jouissance(the Real)that supported the operation of ideology.In the respects of the subject dimension of ideology,Althusser believed that Ideology and subject are the same.However,Zizek observed that the interpellation is not always successful.When confronted with the interpellation of the other,the first response of an individual is not a mechanical response like an automaton,but a double moment of anxiety and guilt.In a word,If the subject mentioned by Althusser is essentially bourgeois,then Zizek strives to find the true subject which can defeat the bourgeoisie.