Louis Althusser (20 October 1918 – 22 October 1990) was a French Marxist-Leninist philosopher known for his anti-humanism and defense of "orthodox" Marxism-Leninism against the extreme revisionist trends of his time. He is specifically known for his theory of ideology, which reinterpreted the dialectical relationship between base and superstructure, as well as the concept of the "social formation".
Notable works
Althusser's works include For Marx (1965) and Reading Capital (1965), both of which sought to revitalise Marxist theory at a time when it was under critique from various revisionist currents. Althusser took specific issue with the so-called 'humanist' interpretations of Marx, arguing that they stripped Marx's theory of its scientific, rational core. Althusser's writings served as a bulwark against revisionist tendencies of his era, notably those that downplayed the role of class struggle, and/or denied the necessity of the vanguard party and dictatorship of the proletariat. He particularly took issue with the trend of Eurocommunism, whicht sought to distance itself from the Soviet Union and the core principles of Marxism-Leninism.
Key contributions
Althusser's theoretical contributions are primarily centered around a theory of ideology and ideological state apparatuses[1]. Althusser posited that ideology is a 'material' force insofar as it is embodied in institutions and practices that reproduce the conditions of production. His concept of interpellation describes how individuals are constituted as subjects through ideological practices and thus influenced by the ideological state apparatus.
His idea of overdetermination challenged the unidirectional base-superstructure model, suggesting instead that various instances (economic, political, ideological) within a social formation are interconnected and mutually influencing. While he stated that the base was dominant over the superstructure "in the final instance", his work provided the insight that in smaller ways, the superstructure and its ideological institutions may also influence the base[2].