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The '''ideological state apparatus''' ('''ISA''') is a concept formulated by [[Louis Althusser]] as a part of his structuralist reinterpretation of | The '''ideological state apparatus''' ('''ISA''') is a concept formulated by [[Louis Althusser]] as a part of his structuralist reinterpretation of Marxism. This term refers to various institutions and mechanisms that contribute to the reproduction of the conditions of production within a capitalist society by generating [[ideology]]. | ||
== Overview == | == Overview == | ||
According to Althusser, an ideological state apparatus is distinct from what he terms the '''repressive state apparatus''' ('''RSA'''). While the latter comprises the government, administration, military, police, courts, and prisons, which function primarily by violence or the threat of violence, the former operates on the level of ideology<ref>https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1970/ideology.htm</ref>. | According to Althusser, an ideological state apparatus is distinct from what he terms the '''repressive state apparatus''' ('''RSA'''). While the latter comprises the government, administration, military, police, courts, and prisons, which function primarily by violence or the threat of violence, the former operates on the level of ideology<ref>https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1970/ideology.htm</ref>. | ||
ISAs include institutions such as the education system, the family, the church, the media, the cultural sphere, and so forth. These institutions play a key role in maintaining and reproducing social relations of production by shaping people's beliefs, attitudes, and values in a way that normalizes and legitimizes the dominant [[mode of production]] | ISAs include institutions such as the education system, the family, the church, the media, the cultural sphere, and so forth. These institutions play a key role in maintaining and reproducing social relations of production by shaping people's beliefs, attitudes, and values in a way that normalizes and legitimizes the existing social order, including the dominant [[mode of production]] within the [[social formation]]. | ||
== Functioning == | == Functioning == | ||
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== See also == | == See also == | ||
[[Repressive state apparatus]] | |||
[[Interpellation (Althusser)]] | |||
[[Louis Althusser]] | |||