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Homework Help: Social Studies: Philosophy: Althusser's Ideology
by Christopher Davis
An Exceptional Case Within the Scope of Althusser's Ideology
Althusser's first thesis on ideology was inadequate to describe the institutions and state apparatuses that form the foundation of ideological power and also could not really answer the question of why people felt they needed to be able to identify themselves within an ideology. Althusser rendered a second clearer thesis that remedied the problem of adequacy and also need, but the problem of motivation behind the desire to be identified within an ideology is actually not a problem at all in an exceptional case found within the reading of Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock and Hughes's Inventory of a Beau. The ideology of capitalism and the ideology of the thinker are presented in both selections and form a connecting theme between them. What makes the case of these ideologies exceptional is that they exist independently of each other and also, to a degree, when presented simultaneously as they are in the two selections, independently of need. People do not need to be a part of capitalism and do not need to be a part of the academic community, but when one ideology is forsaken it produces the need to become interpellated by what other ideology is present that can allow the person to exist outside of the ideology that is rejected. The concept of needing an ideology is what Althusser successfully explains in his second thesis, but in the context of the exceptional case of being hailed by multiple Ideological State Apparatuses at once, and finding one in particular to be unacceptable, the concept of need explains itself. The concept of need only explains itself in the exceptional case when a subject is hailed by two ISAs and rejects one.
Although Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock is a biting commentary on the state of the upper classes in England it assumes it's readers will not find themselves interpellated by the ideological state apparatus of the capitalist economy presented in the images in select passages. Pope presents to us very rich images of opulence, wealth, and courtly grandeur, as well as images of the elite and powerful upper class that can unfortunately serve to paint a picture too pleasing to the eye. He describes the toilet of the Belle, Belinda, and its treasures that come from all corners of the globe1 to adorn her body and make her even more beautiful3 than she would have been without them. She dons her glowing gems2 from India and her perfumes from Arabia2. None of these items would be available to her without the powers of capitalism and trade and none of her wealth would be in place to facilitate the acquisition of such items had someone along the line of her family not sought to expand whatever capital interests he had to the point where he could acquire the wealth, prestige, and upper class status he desired. The same concept applies to the coffee and fine wares5 the Beaus and Belles drink from in the court scene. The fine coffee that is described as making its drinkers euphoric with pleasure5 and the exceedingly fine china the coffee is taken from5, would also not be possible without the power and practice of a capitalist economy. The pots and saucers are from Japan5 and the cups themselves are from China5.The richness of the atmosphere of Hampton court also points fairly squarely at the riches to be had by the person who thinks and acts along the lines of the capitalist ideology. Even as it satirizes the upper classes, Pope's presentations of the material goods that come of the pursuit of wealth and status will inevitably hail some new believers when they read of the wealth made available to the Belles and Beaus through the capitalist economy.
Presenting an obvious satire of the Beau is Hughes in his Inventory of a Beau. The extreme satire interpellates the academic mind that thinks on a level apart from the capitalist mind, but not necessarily above or below it. The satire is very clear and vivid because the treasures presented as being extremely valuable are items that are relatively worthless in the sense of both utility and image, where as in Pope's The Rape of the Lock the items presented are not to be immediately discounted as such. Even as Hughes presents the images of wealth there comes a sense that it is all worthless; the Beau may have been wealthy, but his status in life extended only as far as his riches (no one cares that he is dead, in fact no one pays for his funeral7 and his goods are sold off to cover the costs), his riches extending only as far as what he could acquire domestically (other's riches coming from all corners of the globe1), the items are worthless beyond presenting the image of someone who appears wealthy (tweezer case with twelve tweezers inside6 , a sword never used 6, a toothpick case and eyebrow brush6, theyre bound to go out of style in a matter of weeks8), and the wealthy image is utterly worthless because the Beau is dead anyway6. Hughes is imploring the subject to move outside of the ideology of the Beau and the ideological state apparatus of capitalist pursuits that produce Beaus. His writing hails the subject as a thinker who pursues what he considers to be more valuable, which is the ability to stand outside of the capitalist state of mind as an academic who can understand the satire he is going for and see the upper class of England for the fops and nymphs he sees them to be. The exceptional case now arises when the conflicting interpellations of Hughes's piece and Pope's selections are looked at side by side.
What becomes clear is the fact that both Hughes's and Pope's words can be read as both hailing the capitalist subject and the academic subject at the same time producing the exceptional case of simultaneous hailing. In Inventory of a Beau the text leans heavily toward the academic mind that can easily recognize satire and the value of things not necessarily material. In the selections from The Rape of the Lock the text finds itself leaning decidedly toward the beauty of material wealth and status, and the opulence made available to those who succeed in capitalist pursuits. In both readings the elements of the other ideology are present. The satire is not completely lost in the Pope selections because the theme of the satire of the English upper class runs through Pope's entire piece, it is merely more difficult to spot in the selections and more likely to interpellate the capitalist subject. The capitalist subject is far less likely to find himself interpellated by a reading of Hughes's piece, but that is not to say it would be an absolute impossibility for its occurrence despite the overt use of cutting satire. So what happens to a reader of either of these texts? The reader may not necessarily need to believe in the capitalist economy or need to believe in the value of pursuits academic and valuable apart from the accumulation of wealth, but when confronted with both of these ideas at once, as is the case in Pope's selections and Hughes's piece, the subject needs to be interpellated by whichever ideology he does not reject to be able to say he is not a part of the rejected ideology (Althusser). He needs to stand inside some kind of ideology to stand outside of what he does not accept or recognize as his own ideology. This is a form of the need Althusser explains in his second thesis and unnecessarily so; it explains itself in the exceptional case presented when the selections from Pope's The Rape of the Lock and Hughes's Inventory of a Beau are looked at side by side.
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