Althusser

Louis Althusser was a Marxist philosopher who analyzed how societies maintain control beyond just government and laws. He argued that institutions like schools, media, and religion serve to shape our beliefs and values—what he called “Ideological State Apparatuses”—helping reproduce the dominant class’s power. These institutions influence our thinking subtly, so we often accept societal roles without questioning them. Althusser emphasized that our consciousness is shaped by these structures, making social change complex, as ideology operates beneath our awareness, reinforcing existing power relations.