1

J
la)

The production

'-0 it:

of
moral ideology

It is ""'thodol09l.caUy incorrect from the stand

It QVel!'estlmates the role of con

s cio u sness in the production of ideol ogy.

Men's

ideas al!'e a product of their social co!'lditions,

not prim&rily of the i

societa l conditioning .

p o int ot Histo ic al Materlali to p rocee d

directly from the spec ification of the s uper

lpol itical or 1<!eological)

structural forms

best serving the interests if a particular

ruling clas or - wnat is essentially the """'"
thing - the neeQS of the dom ir.ant !!lOde of pro

duction in a giv e n social f ormation, to the

And rew Collier

s uper structur al

(political or ideological)

My .Ii", in this r>er is to throw So",," light. en

tion.

(b)

It f a UI to axplain why rnll!r.lber s ot a

l ubj eet class should accept ideas antagonistic

the nature ot m ora l ideoloqy by "","mini ng its

or19'i" al".d (un ctior. in terms of psychol\."lyti"al

to their interests.

'1y ,""9"",,,tion5
the or y . as 101.11 as of '\II..->:i"",
ato th e nlltsee are tMt ar.y noral ideology serves

did. th8re would be 1'\0 possibility of an

After s11, one do." not

be lieve everything one is told .

and if everyone

a sociallY repressive fU:'Ictinn.

an d th"t II fn".,..

opore ssed class revolting a" ai n st its oppres

of pra cti ca l

thicr. is in no

sOrs.

r_a50n is pos sible

sense moral o r socially repressive,

einr> of MOral ideoloq

rati o""l <l.esi deratu..'!\,

I take it that the

,,,,;ieiqu e

oqy belon"" to t..., 50 i"n" .,, :

i'" lind p sychoaM lyis .

atternet. to

the ..li"in

therefore tke n ,,,0; a

is

of

mot"l i. denl

IlitoriclIl '1/1t"".i,,1-

shall start with <'In

jl,lstify "'Y u se nf nvchn" nl\lvti c..l

lc)

It does not allow for dysfunctional

ceologieal developments within a 90eial forma

tion.

The chracter-9tructures produced in

capit"Hst socilll torl\\ations snd the i d eologies

a"sociaed wi th them,

are by no means wholly

use!ul frolll the point of vi.... of the succ essfu l

c"hesion and

development of thes," social form-

... tiM.S. though th.y lIIult 1\0 doubt be la r gely

for ca:oitalim to surv ive.

For ins'oance,

concepts, and to rl,li,.,it the 800"" of slIe'> cor.

5<'>,

ar.alysis of ide",Ioqv in geneal.

"ffects the aims of caoitalist p >:Oductio n , as

social tunetinn ..hlch "VIr,..l i.e<>loqie "erve in

as t he l\aopi:less,

"epts in re1 ..t1<>1'1 e(J t"" hi;.riclI! I'III.te,.-illli<;t

In ttle aeC<>M 1ec ti<' . I shllll c",nsider the

social fOrl!llltl"n b.oo ed <>n c l""" exnloitntinn

and domination;

"nC

the characteristic" which

..ny moral I.deolOtIY ""'st have in order to " erve

ttlis function

do have ) :

and

(and which all III",r"l Id.,,,l oqie$

al,."

the s"eci!lc require"'e"ts

of the capit"li,.t ..<>de of nrod",c ti."n in th"

aua of (!lOral Ideol<>C}v.

effects actually produeed In that social forma

Thi" sectinn will

the "revalence o f r.eurotic disorders adve::-sely

it interferes with the \<Orking capacity, as ",-ell

of the individu.als concetJ':ed .

Yet the.e disorders are the .efect of a typ e of

'a!:lilv which

is e ssentilll to caI'1:... 11"",.

Ther e

are ir:elil'li:lable contl!'adi ctions in capi'oalisrn.

lIt the level o! ideoloqv, ...s well as of politics

and eeollOl"'ics - i:l chi' case a c ontradi c tion

between the ideolo<'l'ical .,eeds

and the ideo

logical .nectt< of caoieaH"",.

helonq entirely t'" ttle h1:<l0:0rlcll.l-.......t.,,..;lI.li"t

Critique of Ideology:

it i" int.,nded

whole a!'>alys!.", contained

appl i cable equally to

the thO!<lretical e"ores

ideolog y develo.,erl Iw rl>i lo

o! ",,,,ral

"ions

(115 i s the

in this "liner) to h.,

.nphers and other ideo l ogi st ",

InOral ideologies.

,,,.l\l to pO"'u:"r

tt exp licit ,.-e'"r.,n"e i"

made inly to the former,

thi" i" heell u se

per&o,"",lly am not 'TUalified to undert,..ke

(perhaps mOre prnfitable) analy"is

tr.e

of TXlnular

moral ideologies : there is anY"'lIv no s","-ce in

this paper for II de tailed aeeo unt either of
such ideolo"les

sophy .

logies,

or nf sy"t"",,, of [!IOral philo

aut precinly beca ... se all moral id"o

popular or th eoreti c all y workerl out:,

"hare certain cOl1'lTlOn fell.t ures . and must sh,,::-e
the", in or<ler to serve their

social function,

such detalLed analysis of f'II. rUcular td..o

legies is nOt nec essary for th, r>Urposes <>f
this f'Ilf'8r.

tn t he third aM final se ction I will tal<e

up Illy finding s concerning certain charact ..r

istics of 1IIOral ideologies from "ectior. II,

relate

them to certain conc"pts bel o""ir.g

to pSychoanalytical ttleory, on ttli5 bad" r hON!
aM

to uncover the unconscio...s

production of moral

process of t he

ideology.

and .....I<e II.

f",,'

..rvat1ons on the prognosis for the possible

U lution ot !!IOral ideology in a soclal i :o;t

soe.ety whiCh had revol...tioni"ed the tamilv

SySt... .

1. The Theorelical Framework

the judgem ent that moral ideology has
,II., SOCi all y
repreuive f...nction is derived frnm
uton
ca 1 l'Iat eriaUSf:I .
It ",iqht be thought
tlla.t
this is a
sUfUcient axplanlltion of such
'"<)logy - that the rulinq class w ill more or
1e sa cn"
'
sC10US
lI' '
. neulcate the moral ideology

id

"i

convenient to it.

prevll il.

One n! the (I'.oSt

Btil'lulllt:'nq discu""inns ot the

roduction of ideolnnv in recent rxist tho ught

is Aithus"er'" e""...y

'lde(llogv "r.d th e 5tate '

,2

hut it s...."'. to "'e to he ur."lIti"tactory i n

i...pertant re.peets.

rts arrro a ch t o the prnbl ..",

of idenloqy in terns (If tha nee ds of the

capital

i"t mode o! prt'duetion concerning the renreduc

tion of suitilhie a'lents

nf the productive

process and of I!'eltinns nf

doninlltion/"ubord

i"ation betl"een the representstives of cllpitlll

ar.d the labour-foree is absolutely correct for

understandinq the id eolog ical
c a"italilllll.

requirements

of

but for the reas on" n ote d above ,

that does not make it

theory of the produ.ction

of ideology in a capit.alht social fOnMtion.

(It il lurprising that Al:.'lusser should ne"lect

vi.... ot the fact that he "",re
this point in
"
than anyone else has contribut.-! to our under
Starutinq that a soc ia l fot'1lllltion does not er

press 1ts materisl foundation in the ....1' that

a Hegelian totality expresses its ideal

foundation. l)

Ideology appears in AHhus"er' s usaI' AS a

content CODWlIUnlcated

(however u nconsciousl y)

by

in stit...tlons which tor the (!lOst rt (the ex

ception is the fa_ill') exist precisely to fu
fil this function.
appears
as

The production of ideoloqy

(to pArody Alt huuer ' s own termlflOlogy)

a consp irae y witho ...t a lubj e ct.

To be sure,

Ideology 1s not produced by cynical liars in

high places, but evetythinq Is as if it is.

Cl....l!'ly

rd.oloqical tate Annaratuses

and that this id eolo gy

obj .. ction s

This view has s ever a l

But this WQuld !)e a serioul error; of cOUrse

there are plenty ot cyn ieal liars in high

places,

with immenle meanS of the di8S,,,,ination

of i deas at their dh PQlal : but ideology is

lal!'qely produced withOUt their intervention, And

the wl101e practice of ideological Itruggle
should be earl!'ied out I" a way which is quit.
unlikl that In "hich it WQul'd

havi to

be

J
carried out it a conspiracy-theory
vil:hout a subj..,t) ....re
.
true,
For insbnce,

(with or

it it were the case that racial

i,"", were propaqated al'On", the workers by the

boul'geoia pre.., anti-ncialist propaganda PI:O

duced by the lett would seem to be the mo"t

In fact, however, i t arises

effective antidote.
"pontaneoualy and lal:qely aqainst the influence
ot tha otici"l prop4q"nda of the boul'geoisie,

and is !DOS>: aHectively overcOl:M! by the organ

i"atiol\ ot black and. ",hite workers in a c"",,"on
struqqie lI",ain.t their clllis enemies.

HotH!ver, at least in the Case of moral ideo

loqilf!S,

the .... jor role ot the action ot 'Ideo

denied,

Monl ideoloqy cannot be presented -

loqical seate Apparatuaes'

a. eccncmic ideclot]y can,

(ISAs)

cannot he

shculd be,

and has

been - as an objective appearance, contrasted

with the e."en"e of the r...lity of which it is

an appearance, but derivinq trom that reality

within the object,

Moral ideoloqy is produced

in the first plece in the minds ot individuals,

'there is elso an eppearance ot reality Corres

pon<iinq to a moral outlook,

but it is 'subject

ive', it is produced by the moralistic psychic

structure,

'There tlre no morall phenomena at.

all, but only a moral intlrpretation o t the

phenomena' - Nhto:"che,
ap...,.r"

The avi! in the world

(tJ:'om the moral point of vi_) as the

product ot individu.l "ickedneSl; motives

as <;reed,

lust, pride,

(such

vanJ,.ty) appear at once

as self-explal\6.tory 9ivens and as 'attitudes'

taken up "hich could equally _11 have been

rejected,

etc,

But the.., interpretations are

dependent on the presence of moral ideology

vhich is in the Urst place not an interpreta

tion o! reality, but en eqo -ideal and a 'set ot
ir:tperetives, operatin", at the l ....el ot uncon
sCioui mental processes end retlected in Con
aeious ones.

I ,hall therefore use the terminoloqy o!

lSAs (despite "o'lle doubt about the usetulness

of referrinq to the", as state apparatuses), but

1 lhall !!IIlk e certain eriticillr.\a ot Althusser's

vievs,

I take as a startinq point a pas"age in

the article

'On Social Clas"e,' by Nicos

Poulantzas& in which he reters to A!thusser'"

es"ay .on ISA,. I
,

rognio:e that these apparatuses neitoor

ideology nor are they flVen the sole

or pr.imary factor!l in raproduc.ing J:'elations

of ideological dom.ir'l.lltion/suOOrdination.

Idogioal aP,p.!lratuse!l Gnly serve tG fash1011 a n d inc\llcata the <fomir'l.lln t ideology.

Thu", /fax Weber ....

,S wrong ln claiming

the

Churc h creates

that

and perpetuate" religion:

rather it is rdigion which creates and

perpetuates the Church.

[p52)

K"" this i. abaolutely COJ:'J:'8Ct, but if it is

true of all ISAs,

ideoloqic"l to"", which Cannot

be accOUllted for as objective appearances seem

inllXpUcable,

This points OUt >:he etrikinq absence from.

,\lthus..er'.. Iht ot lSA" - the workplace it.self,

The relative autor"""y ot ideoloqy, which should

certainly be stressed when it is t.lw effset of

ideoloqy .,hich 11 in question, has been ille<;litim

ately extended to the production of ideoloqy,
How does

the

workplece produce ideoloqy?

The clue to a solution however

Can be derived trom " point "",de by Poulant:o:as

laur in the sanoe pe.raqraph,

oqy,

which 18 in pert it.s own objective a!'peaJ:'ance,

has been dhcussed ehevhere.

1 am concerned here

With the point that Poulanta.. kes - its produc

tion cf the ideoloqical aspect of clas" rela<:.ions

by the despoti c organization aL labour,

This qives

the clue to the error in l\.l>:husser's aCCOUnt.

He

Rees the Is.a.e as pro<!ucinq ideoloqy by co=uni

catinq a certain idsoloqical content, J:'atneJ:' than

by effectinq apeci!ie: character-struct.ural modi

The ISA, as described by Altusser are

tications.
nct the producers of ideoloqy, but that descrip-

tion is not adequate.

Let me illustrate this with

refel:ence to the lSA which -Althu .."er

(incorrectly,

as I believe) reqal:ds as ths foremost one at the

present time - the educat.ional IS1\.

Much has heen

......de J:'ecently of 'subtle' forms of indoctrination

in schools - 1IIIIny ot them so ..,btle that one Can-

not believe thell' to be seriously eftective,

What

is effective is the authoritarian structure of the

edUcational system.

It is not the fact that a

school....ster says 'the Enqlhh leqal "YsteJll,

like

the pJ:'e-revolutionary French one, has ne'fer had a

class bies', but that he says 'Say "Sir" when you

speal< to me!',

Short of dil:oct reactionary

political interfer8roce, the content c"",",-unicated

in the educatl01'U1.1 apparatu" will 1 believe tend

to become more objective,

within the present sys-

te.. (of bourgeois dmllOCracy), thouqh there is "'"

doubt a liclJ.t to this tendency_

The prt:..ary locus

of Ideol09ical struqqle vithin the educational

system should not be the content connunicated but

the relations ot da.inaticn/subordination, the

authoritarian structurs,
cations

with its divisive ramifi

refect Iystem, streaming, certain to:nns

ot assessment, seqreqation ot the sexes etc,)7

This clearly has i",portant practical conse

qusnces, not only tor the innediate ideoloqcal

loqical apparatuses of the state are to be smashed

and replaoed in the worksrs'

The view

COrltent will tend towards proposals tor ideological

dictator,hip, i.e, the use o! the repressive a!,para

tus af the stete to prevent the disse",ina.tion o f

boUrgeois ieleas and promote that of lMrxist ones.
1 do not deny that >:here ill a place for this

early staqe8 ot rsvolution,

in the

Bourgeois society largely

excludes subver.ive social sciences froo it.s univer

sity syllabus

(i.e. Marxist political economy !rom

economies courses, psychoanalytical theory fJ:'om

psycholoqy coursel etc), ar.d " revolution must ::lake

1:0am for thas. sciencee at the expense ot their

ideol09ical substitutel_

!l,!t such measures in them

.elves would leave the lSA intact as a producer of

bourgeoi", ideol09Y by it. production o t the requisite

tion.
rehtlollS of ideologico-pol1tical domination
does indeed invo the apparatuses,

state,

which emphasises >:he com:nunication of ideological

character-structure by ",eans of its despotio orqaniza..

.,. the reproduction of positions 1.n the

but it

also invOke", ap,p.!Iraeuses other tlllln the

state ideological apparatuses - IDOst import

antl!; the economic ap!lI'ratus itselt.

A", a

unit of production n ts cllpit.ilist form,

an enterp r i!le i.s a1.sc an apparatus, in tJut

sense ellat, by meana ct the social division

of hhour ....ithin it (tJwJ despotic organization

at labour), the enterprise itll'el! reproduces

political and ideooloqical relations concern

ing the places of the social ellisses.

l\. too intensive and pr.olonqed ieleoloqical

dictatorship would actually preven>: these transform

etiona of the educational 151\ which would, by dis-

....ntlin9
.
its ..uthoritarian structure, make it a

suitable in,trul!\ent of enliqh>:enrnent and .socialisa

tion in e society not based on clau exploitation.

Th. reletive aucclS. of the churches- in survivinq

into the modern aqe in .tate-capitalist countriee as

compared to capitalist W8steJ:'n EUrope, despite the

use at the r.presaive Itate apparatus aqainat th""',

Can peJ:'hilps be explained by the qreater authoritarian

ism ot state-capitalht societies - of which such

Use ot the repressive state apparatus is an aspect

producinq the character-structural determinants ot

religious ieleoloqy,

Another example miqht be

Solzhenitayn's novele.

Its role

in the production cf apecitically economic ideol-

struq",le, but for the manner in which the ideo

In talking of ",tate apparatUII'eS, wo must

create

structural OOll\ination

Whatever one's view ot their

,J,
prod.ucacl by the RSA,

it. is the lSi\s

whi"h

have

.s art. .nd soc1al CoaTllent. (The I'irst Clrcl,.

a_a t.o _ among t.he world's great.est. novel..), the>::e
vive IIIO raHstic ideology in the:;, which in
p...
the c.se of Cancer ward s.riously det.ract.s from its

st.rive for happineu, a tracing of all <wib to the

personal ..ickedn.as ot th. men in po"er, an historical

sooiel practic.s are expressed, concretized an'"

I
Codified by law proper.
It is certainly not

"Ilrit.

ar tistic valu., a glorification of !!III n's capacit.y to

,tolan.t.e misery, at. t.heexp.n"e of his capacity to

Th.y impose morality .... a quasi-

this function.
la"

(the 'rulas' of the fantily, the

workplace etc).

"", ral

However

consist in thes. Nlea, which rether express,

j
concretize and codify its practice, as certain

individual live up to the highast standards of (statec.pitali st.) soci.ty, it' onl y the le...ding bureaucrat.s

in )(ost.oglot.ov's et.her.al love for the woman doctor

flog!cal apparatuses,

succeuors to produc. this ideolO<JY;

Ithe ISla, they are legislated

hJ,IIMoni.""

.11 of "hich l ..d to th. conclUsion,

let. each

This id ....l of virt.ue undid sO .11 would be ....11.

aHected by t.he vicissitudes of re,.l IHe is epitomised

"ho is ....sculat.ing hi::. 'for his own good'.

It. was
certainly not the int.ntion of t.h. Stalinist.s or their
trary they suppres.,

which on the con

yet it is just. as certain that.

it i.. precisel y the savaq'e repre.siveness of that

regi:l1e which produces this ideology.

The diagno ..is

of this unmarxist moral ideology in Solzhenit.syn,

far f.. om just.ifying hil p41rsecution, is a lurther

so

sha..p indictment of the rapr.ssille character of the

produced prULarily

by

these rules, but by t.he

authorita.rian structure of

However insoar as ISAs are ideo

to law proper.

relation dHh",.

not part of the liSA,

,"oral rule .. .re not tor the roat part enforced by

forced by the

by them, but en
sanction. of moral ideology.

'inn,u'

In ..ofar as thl! i.. also true of law, it is only

,
,because ot a moral impera tive to obey the law.
H.nce,

in..ofar aa the tunction of law i.. ideo

logical,

it is dependent on moral ideology for its

etfect.

However

fIIOral

aut.nority by the I\S....

(a) ISAa which hlIve 1'10 "'omination-aspect can be

relegat.d to a secondary role.

this

Laws are enforcad by the RSA ,

c<:l<M'unication-aspect of the lSAs which produces

ideology, a.veral conclUSions follow,

in ..titutions in

rule. that eluo r.pr....ive nature of the stat.e does

author!t&rian chllracter

question, which bears the sa"" r.lation to these

stat..-capitelist regime.

If it is the domina i o n-aspect rather than the

school, t.h"

ideology does "<)t

ideology as produced by the

of

the ISAs, is in the last

analysh dep<ll ndent upon the underwriting of this

Th!! structure may be

repre..ented thus:

These are p..e

cisely tho .... ISAs which are mo ..t purely ideo

logical in function (med!a, churches et.c).

They cannot be counted among t.he producers of

enforceS

ideology.

{bY'The workplace it..elf, as noted abolle, becomes

on.

ot

'"

th. pri:1lolOry ISA...

(c) The effectiveneaa of domination in producing

ideology

(rather thlln . '1. siJoply nsentment)

needs to b<l explained.

This requires reference

to pshoana1ytical concepts.

It will bec""",

clear frOO!ll this thllt the falllil y is the dominant

'''' .

,
I
,
,
,

Requlerisation of Moral Ideology

It is perhaps usetul he". to look at the relation of

law to morality under the aspect of ideology.

La",

is naturally located. on the jurtdico-political level

-- - - .. -

without

(though like any

' in ne r'

i"'eol ogi.::a 1 form i t hlIs ita own pol itical and .,.::ono
mie effectivity ) .

"

collir!e"

""

eecure observance of Isw

recourse to repres .. ive force of
a"netion of moral i ol e ol ogy.

"Mo ra l rules

of the sup.rstructure, but in !l\Any waya it is an

ideological upeot of that level

'"

IU ideological aspect ia in that

it il nOrr.latill", i. . it says how certa in things are

sita up inatitutions to secure adherence

to be "'one,

to thele nom.. ,

etc:.

how things are done

It do ... not however

- that

by law. of a different kind,

determine

i.. ultimately determined

I.e. the

structural

1awa <;ove.rning the ..ocial formation in question.

Rather it regulari:::".. the way in which things are

jUlt IS rnarria<;e don not CeUse but

to be "'one,

regular!:::as sexual cohabitation

(even i n a society,

if t.here .... r. ..uch, in which this never occur..ed

The repreivII function of the

outside =arria<;e).

politic.l power of one cLa.s QIIer another is

ragulari:z:ed in

hi",.

The

specihc fUnction of this

The Family
At first glance, the s.paration of mor..l ideology

and moral rules here !!lilY be confusing.

base-superstructure model, which I ahall forthwi;

abandon in favour of Plekhanov' .. f1ve-Iev.l model.

At the salll8 time I ahlill ..hift discussion from ISAs

gen.rally to that which

plhoanalytical theory )

vit""'t brin<;ing the repressive state epparatus

Law ...y tJu>. be characteri:z:ed as the

ideological .,.p".aaion of the 'Rapres..ive state

(RSAI.

Ita si/flilar

prescriptive, restrictive nature, and its concern

guil t

etc.

as the id.al reflection of law,

demands, morality

acceptance ot thoae dernanda,

requires

inner

the law aspire .. to be

Hence though it is not illegal to be

immoral,

it ia illegal to conspira to corrupt

'pub!iS1_ morals, etc.

.
_
I
Morality is not entorced or !!IOral ideology

aconollli.c

relli tions eMs. forces condition,

8",,8"tlllll

on the given tICOnot!Ilc

th.st h.ss developed

'bas""

The _ntallt" of men l.lving in society; a

cal lI'ystelll th.st h.ss arisen on that foundation,

TlIa verious ideologies that

rall""t

the

properties of chat mentaHty.S

law makes exte..nal

moral and assumes morality as its aupplef:lentary

norm.

Often it appears

(of certain kinds)

2'1>11

T1>II socio-politlc...l

lng, and in PIIr t b!I tlla entire :rocio-politi

ity Ues first in ita normative, unive:z:;alistic,

"ith responsibilit y,

2'he state ot the productlve torc"s;

""'ntalH" which .Is detel'lll1ned ln parI:

dlrecti" by the itconomlc conditions obtai::t

l'Iorality has very similar structure to law,

but no "'irect connection with the R5A.

I bali.lI. to be primary

The levels distinguished by Plekhanov are'

ation of that power, and. h.nce its functioning

Apparatus'

Ifor teaSons derived fran

the family.

regalariution 1.. an ideological on.. - the legitim

into action.

This is due

to the constrainta of working with a thr.e-lellel

The relevant a"'vantage of thi .. model is the

"'istinction N"'e b.twe.n levels 4 ..nd 5,

simply lumped 'together sa

-then eith.r .xplained

'ideology',

often

which

is

(in a mechlln htic fashion)

di..ectly intems ot the eeonomic base, or is aeen

a.

med iatad by

!dealhm.

consciou ..n.... , which 1ea"'s

to

In situating the ob j ect of psycl1oanaly-

sis within thh h1lltorical-materi.1ht ntQdel, !

sexual fulUlJIIent libentes the individual fr"",

these restr.ints on his subjective possibilities,

shall be using c.rtain conc.pts derived from

ilhel!!l l't.ich

.
sexual .. nd othe....!se.
This set of inter-struct
ural relations can be represented thus:

{'charact.r-structure', Reich's

an.lyds of th. re1.o.O:ion b.tween psychoneurosis

and actual n""rosi8, atCl.

Reich "as after all

on" of O:h.e first to atte:,pt to bring th"se two

dial"cticsl-materialist sciance" toqether,

.nd to

do so in .. cOI'l8i.. t."tl1' materialist !ashion.

1n ol"<l.r to put p8ychoa:-.alytieal theory to

work in producing a genera1 theory of ideology,

it is necessary to work with . concept of the
psyche all a whole,

not ..erely with llpecific

libido

The concept of character-structure as

syt::ptans.

lIach

used by Reich i,

a concept,

and also empha

sise" the teri.lit1' of this structure

its

., <:Mre<:te

interaction of needs of physiolO9'ical origin with

phyat"al

I
I

but which. also

presents obstacles to their s.tisfaction, and

determin.s their vici!situdes.

Th<l point .bout actual neurosis and psycho

neurosis is briefly this, actual neuros"s are
thO>l" cau!ed by current disturbances in the sexual
life, psychoneuroses those caused by def"nsive

(thi! is th" <lcon"",ic

,

of neuro.. is), while it. fOr1l\ is laid down by a

Insotar as 'character' is conceived of h"r" as

by

oorl

"

"

child-

(0)

sociG_
sy,te."

fS:lily

evete'll

1\( d)
I

past frustrations,

on present posdbil1ties of satisfaction - ar.d is

how

this not slso

o:his concept was used b y t.he

lI'IOr..li..t.s who talled about

'eharatter

buildi:lg'?

- t.h. dissolution of character is a rational

fnrcee an re)tione

desider.tum .'

., rro"u<:tiol'

1 identify chilracter-st..."co:ure with Plekha:>ov's

l<lvel 4.

1 take it that. the organisation

political

I
I

The relevance of thi will

..pp....r hortly.
a et of retreints, produced

ation

principle of the libido 9overnin9 the OCcurr"nce

pychoneurotic element.

determination

cila rct"r-for"'_

,\

Reich argued
for=tions built up in' infancy.
that every neurosis derives its energy fr= an
actual-neurotiC elament

tru<:t"r"

enviro"",ent in whi"h

alone these needs "an be utisfied,

(0)

ellpe<:tll

ph1'lliolO9'ica1 anchoring, its production by the

the :social and

orFanillll t ion

other

of the

libido is thl dominant e1.ll"n

", t in tis struct."""" .
The chief determinant of l1ido-orqanisation in
level J is th" farrl1y-.. y,tltlll; the (""'ill' is not
(in advanCed societies)
l"vel J.

(a)

th" dOltlinant "l""",nt in

But it deter.:oines the dominant el ....nt:

...

in character-,tn>cture in tlo'Cl ways,

(a)

throuqh

its deter:nination of the vicissitude. of the libido

in childhood,
ter-structllre;

dllrin9 the fonnation of the charac

(b) through its determination of
Character-structure and

sexual life are mlltually determinllnt,

of

"xual

(b)

"cono1c principle

(c)

determination of ob.je<:tiv" .uTual

poaeUUities

(d)

!lo,"e "irect effect

"""'Iustio" fro," "ark,

the objective sexual ponibiliti"s open to the

individual in adult li!e.

d"terination of aubj"ctive

pOllsibiUtiee

houainp'.

libido

(physical

Ov"rero"de

etc.)

inso(ar as
Th" manner in which the faily-system is domin

charactlr-tructllre detlrmines the subjecti've

sexlI<II possibllitie of the individual,

and sexual

frustration reinforces the infantile defensiv"

ated by the other aspects of the secio-:-olitical

syst"'" i" quite different fr"'" tile way in which
the libido-or9anisation dOlllinates th .. character

fo=....tions in the character-structur", while

RadicalPhilosORhy

structure.

rn the fOET.ler it is an "xternal

d.,.,ination-relation:

the other aspects

(law,

state

apparatuses etc) simply take priority in advanced

clau secietin, as being ....,re directly function
ally related. to the eco:'lOr.Oic base, "nd as being

Radi.Cl.'Il Philosophy appears three time a year

the locus o 9reatel." pow.IIr.

inqle copies
subscriptions
private
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private

3Sp

'"

sin'll" copies
subscriptions
priv.. te

by the vicil8itud".. of the libido tor its or<Jan

Institutions 2.00.

isation, <ii...ection and restraint d.. tenni...e the way

in which the individual relates to ehe world in

Inetit.utions 70p

ways not

SOp

Now if we loak aO: the determination of ideo

Institutions E).OO

loc;y, we ....e that it will be d"e..min"d by a struc

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by the aspects or it relating to sexuality, as

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specifically sele"""l as well (cf. Nietzsche:

'The de9ree and kind of a II1II1" " .eleua1ity reaches

0)
up into the tOprrlOst sUlmlit ot his spir10:,.1

(3 ilsues)
L.sO

l1bido-or<Janis

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Character-structure

howe"er is dominated. internslly

Thus ..hen critics of moral ideoloc;y

(e.g. Rich)

conc"ntrat" their attack on ssxual morality, while

claiming that it is morelity as aueh which th"y
.

are attacking, they are not merely 'speaking with

the vulqar' and using the \o/Ord 'moral' to mean

logical in Nlture, but put forw"rd values which are

not ot a ".,turalistic kind, i.e. "r.. not based on

's&Xually moral'; their practice is justified by

a sci ..ntific theory ot hum.an needs, w"nts, motiv

sour.d theoretical consideratior.s.

ation etc.
value.

anc .. from the qround.?

2.The Social Function of

Meterialism

is qivsn ?riority over that of natural values,

hence the characteristic of morali ..... that a sub

class ot putative reasona for actinq

!:lUst treat morality as an

ideoloqy with a tunction in eny society based on

class nploltation.

Any exploiting class will

benefit from the pr.",alenc. ot an ideolO<Jy which

will reconcile the .xploited to the deprivation of
possible satisfactior.s which they will suffer as a
r"sult of their exploitation.

Ilenc" the required

td"oloqy must be antaqonistic: to natural values

(happiness, the satisfaction of wants)

and lead

its adherents to be prepared to sacrifice them.

Its function is thus neqative,

but it must make

this negative aspect appeer as in some way a

positive velue.

Finally it must persuade its adherents to

cha"qe themselves - abal}do" wa"t9 they have in

favour of ones which can be fulfilled in the con

te"t ot the class society in which they are

e"ploited.

1\ morel ideoloqy muat therefore

(oil

(b)

be conducive to the att6!:lpt to chanqe oneself

( c ) find a

SOUrce

ot appeal other than that based on condUCiveness

to satistaction.

If we n..."ine the ..ay that any

moral theory seeks to seduce its victim.. we c"n

e"dly See that it is by fhttet"inq th.. h v"ni>oy.

I\n>oi-N.o.turalis::l,

Self<hange and Self-Flattery

(a) There

is a whole class of moral theories which place

value in moral "ction itself, not in any end of

moral action.

This tradition, deriving frO<:o

Stoicism and the more

irrationalistic forms of.

Christianity, found its clear.st e"pression in Kant

"nd Fichte, but also has left its 1rIIlr k on most

modern mOrill.l philosophy, e.q. e"istentialism,

prescriptivism.

This is the clearest form of

moralism in its aspect of indepe"d.. nce of and anta

gonism to naturalistic

pr"ctical reasoni"g.

...n

unbridgeable 'lap is phced betwe.. n natural values

"nd moral imperativ.. s, and the latt.. r "re supposed

to uke absolute priority.

would le..ve hilll to rationally pursue his natural

istic ends.

Practic..l r..ason of a non-moral kind

involvaa und.rstanding one's own n .. eds, d.. v.. lopinq

them in such a way that their most satistyinq form

of s"tisfilction is ponible, gaining knowledge of

and therefore p<:lW..r ov.. r the world, ."lectinq the

bast meanS for the aatiaf"ction of n....ds, etc.

Practical re"son in tllis sense is not univer.,,11stic in nature, i.... it does not necess"rily t"ke

follows that it is 'agoistic', in tll..t

that are otller-reg"rdinq

(i) ",otives

(thouqh not disinterested)

will ..nur into it - i.8. love, fri..ndship, etc.

(ii)

It ..ill oten b .. in the collectiv.. mooe,

1.e.

th .. question will be not 'what shall I do' but

Th.. pre

intarast beinq the ground for choic..

scriptiva lIIOde het"e ia condition..l on and hence

in no way independent of or antagonistic to
aatur..l valuea

(..hicll by no means preclude.

conflict ot values, and hard decisions).

introduction ot ..n

The

'autonomous' torm of practical

r"".IIoninq, antaqonistic to "",tural value .. is not

inevitable, but serves the function of makinq

people decide aqainst th..,.,.e!vell,

their exploiters.

and hence for

(b) An exploited cless can react to the frust

ratton ot its need. by .....king to change lIoci..t y

Let !!III say " Uttle QIOre "bout each o! the"..

characteristics of moral id"ologies.

Now it is by no :neanS the cas. that the r=oval

of moral motiv.s would leave man motiveless; it

'what shall w" do', collective ""turalistic self

be independ

ent of and antaqonistic to naturalistic valu.. s;

rather than to chanqe the ...,rld;

aor"l ones)

are 'liven precedenc .. over others is preserved.

'tile good of all' al its end, but it by no me"ns

Its imperative9 must stand

independently of and in opposition to naturalistiC

ones.

This is also somethinq that

psychoa".,Lysi, can answer - 'dispbc""",,,t upwards')

Moral Ideology
lIistorical

The realisation of the ..e 'hiqher'

(why do We assess values in ter:llS of dist

Other modern theories,

s o that they need n o lonqer be frustrattld, which

vill involve revoltinq aqainst its exploiters,
i! possible overthrowinq them.

The exploitinq

class hlt.s .n interest in th .. "doptton of the

rt
altern"tive reaction to fru5tr"tion on the p ..

of the e"ploited, i.... th .. effort to change thrun

selve.. , to adapt their needs to the possibilities

open within the ""ploitative ayst"",.

Every moral

ideolO<]y enjoins Self-CMnq.. as opposed to the

effort to change the world.

It calls on its vic

tims to take sidea with the world !It it is,

aqainst their own needs, and h .. nce, in a society

in which e"ploitation ia the in sOurce ot frust

r"tion, to take aides with their ..xploit..rs aq"inst

such as util1tarianiSnl, .hare the form of these

themselves.

natural values, but create " gap b.. tween tho"e

progre.s consistinq urgely in th .. tr"nsition in

theories;

they derive their moral imperatives from

values and those imperatives by introoucinq the

prinCiple of universality, viz. that it is the

(naturalistic) qood ot

all

which is to be pursued

by each individual, this moral imperativ" takinq

"bsolute priO'rity Over the naturalist:ic

qood

ot

each individual t o whom it i s addressed.

These
1
theode" I have SU9gested els_here1
are contr,,_
dictory inaotar a" the rational cont.. nt

the

naturalistiC au.. - c"nnot be realis ..d by the sort

of practice dictated by their moral form - tile
responsibility of each individual t o pursue

disinterestedly the qood of all, but only by

collective practice in the self-interest ot all.
lmaqine a cOllnunity of strict utilitarians

Godwiniens for e"ample - "llowinq their ""'thers

Th.. s.. two practic.s can be ....en in history,

one "re" attar another trom .elf-c:hanqe to world

chanqe aa the primary means of resolvinq problems.
FroqrellS is the replacement ot har of God by

liqhtninq-c:onductors, of prudenc .. by social insur

ance, ot colltaqe by ,afety, of chaatity by contra
ception,

of charity by social se!'Vic.. s,

by technology.

of hard work

The progress ot sci..nce "nd tr.e

wideninq of the stnt" ot the population with a

share

in

power over their destinies, involves

the progressive redundancy of the vhtues, of all

th"t involves selt-control, resiqn"tion, 5elf
denial, responsibility, etc.
(c) Thirdly there is the question: ""erein lie"

the "ttraction of theae antinaturaUstic morali

ties, requirinq as they do a d.qr .... ot self-chanqe

to burn to death while they rescued qrest scient

The "im of ,,11 th.. i r
ists from the flames , 12
actions would b e univers"l happiness, but Can

Which can only he described aa violene.. towards

anyone believe

verify this cl"im easily by referenc.. to' any moral

they would 'let even averagely

near achieving that aim,

'hedonistic paradox'.

(NB this is not the

It is the altrUism, not

th.. hedonism of the utilitari<Ons which is selfd.. fe"tinq) .

Fin"lly there are morel th.. ories which are axio-

oneself?

Their appe"l I have sU'.lqe.ted is in

their flattery of human vanity,

and anyon.. c"n

arqument, whether at " popular Or " philosophical

level.

A perlon's vanity i, flatt ..red whan his

differentia from other bein'.!s ar .. praised.

In

most c"ses in the monl sphere, it is the differ

enti" of humans from other sp..cies which are ....de

j
the ba.i. of thil flattery , men are praiaad for

beinq unlike animals , and urqed to CUltivate

thole charecteriatice with differentiate.thea

from an1_1e ,
with them.

and de.phe

thoee which they share

Thera are eVan ar.nt. about what

really di.t in<j'l.lhlla. IIIIltI fr"'" the b&aau, the

point of which appaan to 1M : whatever it is,

..e .hould cultivata.

that

Thua phlloao>.ra auch as

Aristotle have claimed that man is assentially

quaintanc. with Merx .nd Fr.ud can b..li.v. that

paopl. r.ally ar.

'p.r.ons ' .

EYen it th. term

'parson ' do,," not hay. the spaci!ically mor.l

connotation. that it doal for our bntlan., it 1s

certainly . cone.pt ine&nc!ad. to dHf.renUae&

hu:u.na fro. oth.r bein"l, and pander to the

vanity .ri.inq frOM th. ditf.rentiation .

frooa th1l tha conc.pt

11

Apart

pointl... tor 'It.hics' .

the rational anw1, .nd henca IDOst h=an ..he"

Thl pravalent contUlpOrary :"IOral idaolOOiY ..... to

centre on th. id.a that it i. moral to tr...t

as hUl:lln vanity is operative here) ; .=e M.rxists

p.rsona.

the importance of .acial lebour in differentiatinq

the.n that!

doin9 philo.ophy (note how prote ional a . ...11

have qiven a ""'ral t..i.t to Marx ' . conception of

p..ople paraona,

JJmord to tr..t t.h-. .. not

Yli one l1e&rally n..v.r tr...u people

.i=ply al parsona - it i, alwaYI .ore specific

....r on. tr...t. on. par.on a frilllld

r.t.

men trom btla.ta, .nd raqarded (ll4n as IDOst human

to have a bear and a chat with, .nothar .. a lev.r

alleqed in hippy literature that man ia the only

revolutionary ?ap.r. with, and yet anoth.r a. a

when buildinq po.....r station., and it ha. been

speci.s ot whiCh the temal. can achieve orgasm

with obviou. implicstiona .

(There are also various'

theori.s, ot les. philo.ophical intarest, which

take arbi trary .ubqroup. of th. hU/l\&n species

aryans, males,

temales - as the qroup whose

differentia are to be cultivated ; and certain

individual

cularities.

parti

One may perha", u.e Rous.eau ' s dichotomy of

sel!-love and vanity

propre)
fO=R

de

(..mour

soi and ..mour

to characterise this dichoto,"y between

ot practical rea.on which aim at the satis

faction of de. ires

(I.l!-love) and those which

le""e to increase .elf-.lteem

(v..nity) .

There

h..ve been variou. rel.tive evaluation. of these

IOOtives .

ror Rousseau,

s.l!-love is prefer..
ble as

not l.adinq to conHict except t.!)rcugh scarcity,

..herea. val'lity cr.ates infil'lite wants, and is il'l

a ser.se i:'>trinsic.Uy scarce

qratl!'ied by injurlnq youra) .

b.!en held by th.. Taoiat.,

Sel!-love is

(1. .. . my "...nity is

A similar "iew r.liO.

and also t!le hippies.

'doinq your own thing ' , vanity is

On ths other he.,..d,

'eqo-trippinq ' .

!or classical

bourgeol1 !!\Or.lity in ita Christian and ide..list

orm',

aal!-love i,

a,..d i deDlorM ,

'.elti,hn.as'

whte there i.s a veritable cult ot seH-est:'e::. ,

' no t lo,inq onel self' etc,

cours .. ,

1 . 01 .

of vanity.

Insot..r as the former conde",n

O!

'ego

trippinq ' morlilly th.y are mer.. ly inconsistent a:xl.

in no b.tt.r cass than the latter .

bora to be avoidad

(the re of cOUrSe not all

mutually exclu.iv.) .

There

saneone 8.imply .1 a parlOn,

no way of treating

But n.ither h there

a way of treatinq aomeone a. not a per.on

except in the narrow 1aq.l/moral n,e of 'perRon ' ,

version. of exi,t.nti.liam - e . g . Kierkegaard ' a

appear to aim a t accentuating

to qo to bed ..ith, a third a. a ccarad. to .eU

The ..ttempt to

in which it is correct to treat people "' not

pereons.

(II

psyohopath perhaps mig-ht .tub .. ciqar

out in lotrIIIOne' s f..ee, not tor kick. like Magqie' I

Pa in Bob Dylan ' s sonq , bu.t simply becau.e he

wanted to put out hi' cigar, .nd the f...ce was

conveniently r..dy to h.nd,

thi. parhe.ps would

count as treetin.. .o....one as not a person ; Maggi.'s

P a ' s b.haviour on th. other hand could not be 80

de acribed, hi kicks preeumably depend on it

beinq a person that he il treatinq in t

his way . 1 3 )
I n politici likewi,. one .hou1d not treat

people as

'perlons ' , but a. work.rll Or bourqeoi s ,

cades o r clase .nemi.s, e t c .

The norMal po1i

ticlll i.cpliclltion o f pareo""l h t ethics is 'cllJ.s

less'

liberaliam,

thouqh it clln allO issue in II

80rt ot etaphy.icIIl revolt eking political out

lets, which, beceu.e it seeks relll solutions to
ill'lllgiNOry problams,

tends towards fascis

....

A fUrther hature of this appe..l of morality to

v...nity is the conception ot treedOfll ..s freedom

fro.. ne.ds by meanll of the neqllticn of needs,

rathl!r than by ntiltaction of ther!l,

SUborcination

tn necessity is taken aa an .ffront to human vani:y,

anc henc. an attempt is rrIIIde

to ?Ortray man a

cap..ble of achiavinq !reedom from his nl!eds, not

by satisfyinq the lind creating ..

'rell1.", of free

eliminate v... nity from hum..n motivation cO\l1d only

dom'

wit.. which I ..m concerned here rel ates to its

freadoOl the urqe to satishction is denied .

be motivated by vanity.

The point ag.. inst vanity

Sel!-love requires nowladqe cf ones elf

and the Io'Orld ... . a necessary mellns to satisfact ion .

V..nity on the other,

leads to eqocentric errors

(arquinq from o n e ' s own experiene. ..nd in tu i tions ,

overvaluinq o n e ' s own - .uppos"d - qualities eve,..

when they are intrinsically UndeSirable,

etc ) .

Her.ce it .hould b liminetad from the dete=in

ants of theor y ,

even though it !My be indulged in

pactice .
It should b. noted the.t one o! the ch..racter

istic . of the !llCr.Uti of v..nity is the.t they

take as a value not th :lds suppos..dly securw by

morality, bu: the practic. of morality itself,

it is t!lis which,

for one re..son or ..

not!)er,

invest.d with este,

is

or

He""e r:.or..li;ty conditions

lIxioloqy rather th..n vice verU.

This he.s inpli

clltions for the alpact of th.s. mor.. lities liS

.. ltuis:ie.

rt it is better to suffer evil than

to inflict it,
the privU.ge
fl,:;t;':'Iq it.

include heir

it is better lIlso tn qive othes

of ..uf!.rinq .vil rat.

...er thlln iro

Hence th. ..... lfllre of others CQ<:le$ to

'=ral welfare ' ,

..ncl i:'l gener...l ,

the restraint of thair self-love ..nd the gratHi

e

..tior. of their "anity.

1\ccording to this view,

one :!IOral obligation is to tre..t people ..s persons

i . e . as responsible mor..l .Ilbj.cts ",hose se1:

conception il qener.. Hy correct ,

volves,

etc.

This

in

... the io:hlaU.. t forb.ars of personalist

ethics nw, punishmen: rllther thlln tr....tment of

of!enderl, etc.

to'o one wit. even a nodding ..c-

escap ing from the latter .

I r: the NOrM of his

Because r:eads raGIl!re externlll objects or their

ideoloqicl - O:'>e might say its cognitive -

etlect.

beyond the 'realm of neces,ity' , but by

sati".faction,

this concept of freedom is character

.ised as tndepender.ce of the external world, a.s

opposad to power over the worl d , whiCh 'oUuld co

incide with freedo in the rrIII terialist sense.

P.rhaps it is thi. point thet makes clearest both
the rol<! ot 1TIOtal1sm ir: the service of exploita

tion, and the int.rconneeticn of the three teatures

of morali ... - its .r:tiMturalism, cuit of self

chae, and ,elf-!lattery.

Of cours.. 1':0 one cal':

in raaUty be indepe:ldel'lt of the ,.. terilll ","rld Or

of his tellows, .nd the believe the.t One Clln i s

at onc. an illUSion ot the privilegw

(who ..re

.ctually freed trom need ir: the genuine, material

ist way, by their tisfllction) ..nd an ideology

conr..ending it.el!to th. aal!-e.te... of the uXer

privileqed ,

aervinq both to justify their depriva

tion ar.d promot. th.ir atomisation .

Ie Can easily

be seen that thi. cult of independence ba. II stronq

app.a1 to vllnity, urqes l.lf-clIng. rllther than

world-chanqe , and "",nife.U the he.tility to

natural needs chllr..cteristic ot all OIOr..lism,

Pinally it may b. noted thllt the ",ystification

of th. deprived by th. vanity of "orality is for

the mo.t part 'POr:tllr:eoUli.

When or.e is deprived

of th. ""'lin. to ,"ti.fy one ' s news,

their sati.!action,

one war:ts

but in the lIbser.ce of their

satist..ction one wants to retain one's self

respect vis-a-vis the privi leged .

TO'lere is there

make .. virtue Ollt ot necesai ty .

Silt one then

forI! a spontaneous te:'>dency to - quite literally -

clin;s to one ' s virtuel - i . e .

one ' , n..cessit.is ,

...

one '5

dissatisfdction - for reasons ot 'vanity ' "

Nietuche ' s account of tha genesi s of

I
=cality .
)

slave

(CE.

It is espec idly ilnporu.nt for leftist political

groups eo rllc09ni .e tt'.e IIxistence of these self

produc ir.g

ideolO9i.s of the opprll..ed,

coll'lbot thll.".

:oativ.s o!

Any oppressed cb.s ..ill

' .elf -este.", '

and to
tend,

for

to make virtues out o

its own ch.e.racteri.tic s as lIn oppressed IIOnd there

for. deprived cbss, arod to cling to aad propagate

thes.

yet this is :lust what is most

'virtu.s ' ;

o the continuation of t
heir oppression

conducive

and deprivat ion.

!t ""''I be worthwhile at this poi nt to say sO<:1e:hing

109'1 .. n any mode o! production will be that whict-.

produces in .ach class acc.ptance of the obligation

to fulfil i ts function in that mode of production.
' losing out '

in the prQ(:esl,

that no class

Thus

in

'eud.. l

is

.ach clan i s aSSlgned different duties

ethic s '

and/or privil.ge.,

and'this is justified in tr"'s

of the proper function of the respective classes

in the

state.

In capi u. l ism,

however,

class

oppression. no lon'l.r hallowad by the 'divir.e

order of thin'ls' has to be denied in ide ol ogy - 50
ear as poss ible tha fact of the existence of

c lasses has to be r.pr.ssed .

This manifests it

salf aa a ga n.ral1l1ed petty bour'leois appearance

4

the dominant ideoL09y treats averyone as a

petty bourg.ois, and cQrre.ponds most nearly vi

the rsalities of petty bourgeOis existenc e .

Everyone appears a . the autonomous possessor

posaible vendor)
ies ' .

of hi. property and his

&veryone has sOfllethinq to

capitalist sells his product ,

his labour-pow.r .

.ell

(and

'propert

- the

the "",,,ker sells

Both nc.i.... the ."",e benefi t

in &xchange - money .

puritan sacular asce.ticism of work as the

bour'leois ollCa ...ra) . 1 7

Henc. i t can be sean at t"e nega tivity of

morality is qui t. I,Iniv.r841 i n the capitali st

_av.r th.r. il anot:-...r

1I1od. of production .

ten<l.ency combattinq i t ; both worker and bourgeois

a. well II. fulfi lling roles i n the

proclIIs of prodl,lction . 1 1
are con.u
.... r.,

The ethic of con.umption

The qualitative differer.ces

between l"bour-power and other coonmodi ti .s ,

for .urpLus valu.,

suppressed,

in the

imlqe

of a univer sal petty bourqaois market place where

reign

'Freedom.

&qual i ty ,

Property and Bentham. , I S

The illusoriness of this qeneraliBed petty bour

geois appearance ia familiar to reader s of

but it has

"the individual

idaolO9Y .

aa has ottan baen noted .

viol<lble)

snd his propertiu or works

will l . 1 6

Capital ,

itl effects at the level of moral

is d.vided into a ' p.r son '

(autonomous and in

(sall!able at

This i. of interest primarily because it

re inforc.s what I hava already argued to be the

formal Characteristics of any morality - universal

individual responsibility,

and because it contri

butes to the oblit.ration of the stl."Uctured

hierarchy of need.

chanq.abla wa nta .

in favour of a mass of 1"ter

!'ow let u s leave the apparently ubiquitous (or

ul::>iquitousl'l apparent)

petty' bourgeois, and look

at the functions of the memb.rs of t"e two ""'in

class.s in tha capiu.list mode of production - the

bourg.oiai. and the proleu.riat .

Both OOu:-'ll!ois

and proLeU.r ian appear in two roles - in pro:!uc

:ion and ir. consumption .

Inh.r.nt in the capi.tal

i.t mode of production is the pr.ssur. eo hold

dOW"l"l the wag. of the worker and incr.ase the

intenS ity and duration of his work.

This means

that a "".orality of sa lt -sacri f ice is rl!qlli site.

But the bourqeoi., as cap itali.t , has the fl:"ction

ot accumulating capital,

capital '

ot:

It- .xpansi on.

he is the instrument of

Henc. the r.quire::tents

the .yst.m are a9ain.t his self4indulgence by

taki ng top (nllch ravenue out of the surplus value

produced, and thlll r.duc inq the fund for the selt

expansion o! ca pital.

T.hus the requirement of

"elf-sacri!ic. is laid on the capitalist as well,

and if the sanction of n.c .ssity does not force

this on him wi th the lame rigour as it dOl!s on
th" "",rker,

it is all

the more

and un

is lik....ise
..
general.

production wera re!lectsd in t"e addres sin'l ot

different moral imperatives

important that thl!

to "embers of dEfl!r

ent cla es, within a singla rooral code,

the

class contradictions of tha capitalist mode of

production are not reflected

in the morality of

How.v.r the contradictions of capi

that systsm.

tali"", lor a r.nact.d i n moral i ty u a contradic

tion within morality - i . e . contradictory impera

tives ara addrass.d to .v.ryone.

rather than

different imperativ.s being addressed to different

class.s

and this coincides with the repressi on

of the fact ot the existsnce ot classes in

bourgeois ldeolO9Y .
Howev.r,

' ethic s ' ,

the

'consumsr '

though it i8 the

aspact of capitalist
'civilising'

aspect ,

stiH sUfhrs from a reprusion of class dif::er

enCl!, which h.r. l.ads to the as""'"rotion of the

i"ter-echanq.abili.ty ot wants, lInd the elil:lina

tion ot the concept of needs,

as already noti!d .

Hence the two broad types of mora l theory

no1:ed above - those which ,""elude ",,-turalistic

valu". altogeth.r,

ard tllos. which interpret thero

on a !lOn.u.ry OIOd.el

(utilitariar.iS:O) .

The non

quantiu.tive conc.ption of happiness which domin

ated pre-c:apitali st moral th.or ies has disappeared.

3.The Psyc h i c E conomy 0 1

Mor a l I d eology

bet.....n dOl,lIinance and subordin

is

unlimited

di!ferentiat.d seri.s ot goods)

betw.en tha need for food lInd shelt." and the need
ation in the factory ,

(t.
e requirl!llll!nt to

plJrlu. Nximulll quantity of lIn

class contradiction. specitic to those modes o

about the moral ideclO9hs sp ec ific to :he capi ta l

The optimum moral ideoist . o! product ion.

it must app.ar

(and inded

Thu. whsraa. in pr.vious ltIode. of production the

i.s Ur.der C"pita li sm

or"l Id.ol
OS

s imultan.ously ,

..nctions .hould not tail

ideologic"l

the workcers have nev.r be.n such devotees of t.e

"three charact.ristic s have b.en noted which all

"'Or&l id.olO9iss mu.t have i! they are to fultil

th.ir cohesive function in .ocieti"s basl!d on

elan ,xploitation,

they must be antagonistic

to

naturali.tic valu"s rathar than " ..rving them,

they must enjoin s.lf-change rather t."'an change

of

and they ",ust appeal to th.. vanity

tha "orld,

of the oppres.ed a. against th.ir material satis

faction .

Th.s. thra. differences between moral

i stic and naturalistic practical reason can

immediately

be aligned with three pairs of p sycho

analytic conc.pt S ;

the lupet"ego and the ego; auto

plasticity and allopla,ticHy;

narcissism and

obj.ct-libido,

Practical r.".on in the service of hunan needs

and "ants is a function of tha ego , ..oral require

ments,

as ,ntagon.istic to th needs and wants

are deri';ed from the superego .

lienee the conflic t

bet....n the ",,-tura listic and lftOt"ali.tic fo""s of

pract!c"l r.ason tak., plac. i n the indivicual

plych. as a conflict bet",.en ego and superego.

The e<JO haa the ta.k ot ..ediating between the

i ns tinctual demand. of the id,

and reality.

It

seeks the "",.t "dva nu.geous "'e

...n. of sa ti sfac tion

for thase delllAllds and "cts on th" world accord

ingly.

Th. super.go 11 ori9inally the int"rnal

laation ot paternal authority,

but this

forms the

cora of a clex structure in which later

authoriti.s, directly mediatinq societal r.orms ,

are a lso incorporat.d . 1 9

Thus i n his pap.r

'On Narcissism, an tntroduc

tion ' , 2 0 in vhie!! Freud used thl! concept

Id"al'

says,

'ego

tor what h. lat.r called the superego.

For ehat

...hieh prompted

ago-idaal ,

ehe person to form an

which his con5ciencl! keeps
in.fluence of parental criti.cism

oVlr

guard, wa.s thl

hI!

A
r..lon that couid rsplacs it in this way:

Thus political economy - d..spit. its IoIDrldly

Moral imperativs
rl .Mressld in a universal

and ....nton appearance - is ... tru. lIIOCal scier>ee,

to individllAl re.ponsibility, ..i blaJoe

the dillnial ot Hfe .nd ot all human needs, is

istic way

Its

(po..ibly punishment) unetion for default;

'n.turalistic' practical

the

']roup, by t.t 9rouP, for that gToup - the

of n.ed.,

2
J

SI. hia .....1'.

min.tion' and

. . . althouqh evlry capitalist de"""nd. ehat his

.ee NortMI Geras'

oE thCt OfOrkers, beeaule thlse relate to him as

'Marx and the Critique of Political Economy'

r:epil ' ,

consumers .

lOB.

In Haw Lett R""illlw

' Ideoloqy i n

Eillinq cheir e.rs vith bobble about n..... n....ds.

It is pracisely tM" lJide of the relationship

78.

Althuller in his ..say:

billtweilln cllpi tal and labour "hich is .n essenti.l civilising torce, ...nd on "hich the

'On the Thaory of

historic ju"tification - but also the contemporary po....r

.
- ot c.pital is ba"ed.

(quoted by Mattin Nicola". in his esuy 'The

7.

Unknown Marx in Ideol09Y in Social Science,

Fund.meneal Problem" ot H'rxism, pOO.

I makl no rsference to Rlic h ' . latar specula

Perhap. soci... list hould. ltop carping moral

riqo"r and socislist politi... has led to a

istic... lly about thl Ivil. of the advertising

re9rett".bll neqlect of his contribution to

scisnee

indu.try and receqn1se in it an unwitting

Thia neglect ",""

serious Marxi,ts .

by

...111' - arou.ing the workers' avareness of the

ris.ic...l
...
beln reinforced by the peculi...rly ph
fona vMch hi.

amoralI..

<;load thing. of life which the forces of produc

tion developed by c...pita.lism can produce, but

often takes - at once

upholdinq the perfection of unrestrainiJd """',

which the c.pitalht tebtions of prod.uction

prevent the IIIII.S of workers from obtaining.

and bri8tlir.q with IIU-righteousness at any

deviation from this ideal.

However i is a s easy

to pell off Reic h ' s rOlMnticist ideology r=

19

his scientiUc contribution as it is to peel

The views of Reich that I refer to in. the

Char.cter Analysis.

The SlIx".l !?..volution ...nd

20

21

22

In my artiele

Philosophy

5.

Sas Godwin', Politie... l .Justice, b k . ,

'Ma9gie . 'ar::1 '

14

In his Geneal09Y ot Horll.l a .

it dl back home ' .

on his LP

rem::lVal oE ehe contr.diction, revolutionised

in pr...ctice.

TJw", for insnce, onc.. the

esrehl'J E.m.il'J

.II<

disCOv..red. to the secret

of t.e hQIy tam.il,

It .....y be noted

hver that the ....ter-1ll()rality too i, moti

the Slaves.

stood in ies contr.diction ...nd then , by the

' Bring in9

vatad by vanity - 1 . e . elf-differenthtion frOlll

The

lstter must lesel(, theretore, Eirsc under

ch . ,

'Of Justice ' .

contr...dictodnes oE this secular ""'sis.

'Truth and Pr...ctice , Radical

The song

the Eor""'r must then i t

"elf b e theoretic...l l 'J criticisad .nd radiCdlly

changed in pr...ctice .
23

It i. not ... nat=alistic practice

aimed simply at satisfactIon.

Sel Frlud' S account of the e=y and the church

in Group Psr;cholO<Jy .nd the Analy-sis of the

Ego .

Freud ...rques that the cohesion of these groups

Capital, V01.I, p116.

On this point, interesti:'l:;1 ';:--:k "I bee" done

c!epends on thei.r members identifying ..it."- t!\eir

Studies in Critical P/Ulosophy) , C B Macpherson

e<;lo-idla l onto the la...c!.r, vhils.t 'the love

Meszaros

th 1 orq...niaations .

by Herbert arcuse

!ellows at the level a! the ego , prOj ecting their

( ' A Study on Authority' in

relation between me

(in Poss..ssive Il"Idividualism) , and Istvan

T.ry oE

(on 'universal ....1 ....bi1i"-y

AUlnation) .

in Marx's

One of th.. SOUrces o f

the personalht ideoleqy referred to earli er Can

be seen in this fe...ture of bourqeois SOCiety.

Unfortunatlly the ...rk.t rehtlons which form

the ba.is of this

ideoleqy are critiCi sed in

and women re""'-ins outsiqe

(p73)

24

Collected Pspers, vol . I I .

2S

Civilisation and i:. Discontlnts , pp79-80 .

26

ct.

ngl1& in Lud...iq 1'/tllerbach .nd t."" OUtcome

of Cla.s.sical Gennan Philosophy,

Only- very exception.lly, and in 110 C"sa to his

part from the Sc...ndpoint of this ideology it

and other peopl.. 's profi t , can .n individual

attempt to critictse b;".lrgeois property rel...-

occupation .dth himself.

justic i to vhich they gave ris.. .

s"tist'J his n.lds,

seIt,

17

the f...ct that the secul.r foundation liEts

btl axpl,,[nN b'J the salf-cle"v.ge .nd s..lf

'Epigr"m and Interlude s ' ,

13

16

Cf. Marx ' s 4th thaa ia on rauarbach:

the clouds as an ind..pendent realm is onl'J to

Beyond Good lind Evi l ,

".

IS

In rraud 's Collected P...pers , v o l . I V .

itselt above itSdlf and escablishe" itself .in

ideology..

12

'in.tit;utions of the psyche ' , e'lO,

COllectN p.pers, vol. I I .

...

applieations of those id....s to the study of

11

Ilucidation of the formation and interaction

superego and id.

The N...ss PS!lChol09'J oE F...sciam ...re u.eful

10

S.. The Ego and the Ed for rraud ' s syste:n.atic

of the

off FUlld' S clasdcist ideol09Y rOfl\ his.

text are best Sit out in the middle section of

Robin Blackburn]

ed.

Hi. aposta.ly aUke from scientific

tion..

theretore searches Eor all

by making hi" commodities mere .tt...ctive, by

'Epigrams and Interl"des ' ,

rdeology - thl Politics of Louis Althusser'

hi

possible \fay.., oE stimulating them to consume ,

SII a180 Jacques Ranciere'. criticiSllUl of

in RadiCal Philosophy

In spite ot all the pious lk

'h9ut frugality

in Redical Philosophy 2 .

Beyond GCIOd and Evil,

mealu only hia own

and by no _ns does tMs ...pply to tile remainder

in Idlcgy in Socid Scitmce, ed. Robin

_rkers, because they rel.t.. to hIm as workers;

1969.

Blackburn, and John Mlpham ' ,

In the Grundri.se Marx ....1'.,

workers should Uvl,

'On the MateriaUst Dialectic ' ,

For tvo such account.,

tM 9rl"t.r becomes your

lIIOths nor dust "ill

d""our - your c...pit.al . ' (pllO, Moscow edition]

18

'Contradiction and Overdeter

in For H.rx, Plnquin,

the Hc house; the less !/OU

treasure which neither

th. unction for dehult blin; that

In L.nin and Philosoph, Nev Lift Book., 19'1.

The less !/Ou N t , drink

tbtlorize, sim;, paint, Eenee, e,

the I1JOre 'lOU .av. -

to coll.ctive action tor thl .atistaction

SelE-<fenial,

the 11.Js go to the ""'atre,

booksI
dance hall,

think, love,

individual a. 'unit qroup' beinq the limitinq

tho.. need. r...1n unsatisfied.

cardin.l doctri".. .

and ra.d

' i mperative s ' are

addred in particulari.t v.y (to a specific

ca.a)

most lIIOral ot all sCiallClllS .

CM

(to anyone, by anyonl, for anyone)

which is as uIt-def.atin9 "'S Proudhon ' s

satilJfy his urge tow...rds happirutss by pre

,q"ther i t re<;uires

tions from the st.o.nd.point of the OOurgeois

preoccution w.ith the Outsidl "",rld, means to

Thus in his

lJubsistence, an individual of tlla opposita sex,

1844

manuscripts Marx says of

bourgeois political .conomy:

. . . i.ts true idaal is the ascetic but extor

tionate miser and

slave . . .

the ascetic bue productive

books,

t!l.ot

1"

to sa'J, means of

conversstion, argument, ctivieies,

object.s Eor use and working up.

Fauerbach ' s

mor.lity ether presupposes that these me..ns

..00 objectSl of satlsf...ction are given to every

,.

indi vidual as " IllitC.... o course, or .lse it

'100d

ot.rs Q.,ly i..,..pplic.oble

eMrefoce not "",een

a dvice .nd is

.. brlus farehln'l to people

he

To avoid misunderst....nding,
(i)

m. uy that

I don ' t see uch danger of revolutionary

organisations propaqatinq the ide"" of te

official bourgeois apoioqists

(with occasional

,""ceoti""" like the sc"ndalmongerinq about

incli;'idual bourgeois figures already mentioned) .

Rather it is a question of possibly rproducing

the unconscious determirnlntl of ideology,

IPref4ce to Dj,dogues with Harc.1 Duchamp,

Thames lind Hudson,

1971.

pU)

Whareas it is undeniahly the cass that Ducha",p ,

Tz...n and Picabia "re original thinkeu of a

hiqh standard.

it is harder to make Aimilar

judgements in th case or the Neo-D...daits.

Among the exceptions or the l... ter mov"",ent,

Klain is a particularly interesting figure ;

...nd I think that the deep"st phl1oeophical

perpetuating, but the ".quasi"'" ideologies of

the oppressed (in th.. sen"e of Nietnc.e ' s

found in the

Contemporary ""=p1e5

of such ideologies which have infected sections

of the left might be

'ouvrierillll ' wi<;;, its

cono;:omit.ant anti-theoretical cult of practice,

"

the first to repeat it ....,. possibl!:! an

{iiI i>o is not ehe ond.l bourqeois ideoloqy

which these organisationa are in danger of

account o f Christianity) .

"

first .....n to CO<Dpare the c.ks of "

young "",/!Un to a rose ....,. obviousl!:! a poet;

idiot .

ho are without these ns.

"

The

Ind radical feminis".

see e . g . the references to mora lity in The
Communist Manifesto,

Ma teria lism .

or in Bukharin' s

Histori",..l

.'14rcuse's concepts ot lurplua-re!'reuion and

the perfor:n..ILnce-principle

(aa the tOrTIIS which

grati!ication-defe.rm<'!nt and the reality

principle t.ak<'! under c4pitaliam)
here.

are of val'e

see his E:ros ..nd Civilisation.

inopl icatinns of his ",hole oeuvre au to b

\</hat,

'Ritual ' .

then,

is the

'Ritu.a l ' ?

Its full title:

the Ritu.al for the Relinquisn:.ent of tht!

I!IIl\aterial Pictorial er.sitivit:, Zones ,
Klein

xchanged certi!ieates ot Zons of Ilm'aterial

Pictorial Snsi.tivity !or gold leaf,
Zones were 'immateri...l '

These

they could

In II word , they were in

!\Ot be seen or held.

tanqible.

therefor e ,

Th qold lear with which these ",nnes

I<er purchllsed "as anything but l"""",t"rilll - it

had to be th" qenuin 22/carat article!

The5

certific...ts were valid only whan they lind h...lf

the gold h...d ben ither destroyad or irr.. tril!'ll

ably lost .

The 'Ritua l ' ....ni!esto, which !Clein

wrote in justification oe the 'hal'pani"q' , ends

with the followi:>q >IOres:
From tlli s mament on

The significance
of Yves Klein's
(Rilua"

Ithe certificaea halTing

en dstroyed, ...nd half of the gold lost1

tM i"'IM teri al pictorial sensHivit!l zone

belongs to the bu!ler absoll'tel !:! lind intrin

"ica 11!1 .

The zones havi ng boen rJlinquished

this ..... !I ar e then not an!l more trans

in

ferable b<j their owner .

[Yves Klein,

1928-1962, Sel ectltd' "'ritinq, .

1"931

Tate GaUery f'ublications,

Several distinct coneapta are questioned

hoplicitly by th '!titu...l ' and tMSI will now

be discuued .

GrahameWhile
so,

(for Cathy)

IIccoJ:<ting to Klei.n. money c..." buy a

may ...t first seem absurd,

Yves Klein is probably best-known as the painter

of huge monochrcme canvases,

such as the

International Klein Blue "eries.

Howevar ,

like

the lIIII :lority of the Neo-D4daista, he placed

much emphasis on the event, the
opposed to the finiShed article.

'happening ' , as
It is such a

'happening' which is the subject ot tht.. essay.

However,

before ..
mbarkinq upon the """i n part ot

my ar'q\Ullen t,

I wish to briefly condder tha

achievements of the Neo-D4da moveoent 4" a ..mole,

atte,pting to demonstrat.. what an outstanding,
innovating figure Klein was, in an othel'Wise
tepid ,

repetitive moveent.

Unfortunately, the I!I4jority of the Nao

Dadaists foll into th.. trap otfared by histori

cal repetition and att..mpted ravival .

As Harx

wrota in the 'Eightenth BrtUtlaire ' :

Htt<}el

rl!'rMrk"

so_hsre

to add:

as it ....re,
.

hdce.

the first time "s tragtlOy,

lie forgot

the

second ..s Carce.

Not only was much t!ult e."e Neo-Dadaists
'achieved.'

hree

(this they would not have

objected to in many caaes ) ,

it was tarce of th

'worst Und , being dull llrut unoriginal.

Th

judgements made by lIarx on the relative values

of

' the Uncle' and

'the Nphew ' , have been

reiterated by probably th.. most un-Hegelian

mind oe tha century - alv",dor Oall:

but like all the best

ther" is method in the al'rent.

Dspite the heavy attcks which it is

absurdities,

madnes s ,

undergoing at the ",oment,

'art'

In our society

is atill an essentially elitist caeagory of

interest and partic ipa tion .

The concepts o!

'art' and 'property ' re::\ain inextricably

linked .

Art still ssentially reteu to

posseasiona .

Thes ';>os.sasiol':s ' need not

necessarily be the country ...nora and parklanO ,

the finery and wealth of the landed '1entry.

These are primarily materi41 OSSlssions .

The

possessions to which much modern, avant-qarde

art refers, are intll..ctual.

Consider how

m\Jch :IIo<iern art is based upon !ll/l.king allusions.

P1.nn""a" ' s W...ke and The Waste Land are the two
literary exam'ples

par ""celle"ce ,

Co"'T'Osers

far removed from each other in thair working

methods as Stockhausen,

that all facts and

personages of great importan ce in OOQdd

!11 story occur .

This

:tone of i"""atrial pictorial sensitivity.

stravinsky and Hind..mith

capit.alize upon the audienc ' s

familiarity with

tha ",usic of Bach, Beethovln and Mozart,

Th

visual arts presel'it similar manitestations of

this trend .

Consider the allus ions which a

paintar ...s un-theatrical as Soutine was II\4l<.ing

with

his painting of a tl4yed ox

(which

4;'Sw:>eS

an unc...nny human shape) ""'i<:h only becOODes

fully compreh..nsible when O" knows of the

Rembrandt

'Flayed Ox'

in the Louvre.

Duehamp ' s

notorious.LHOOG similarlY maka, sense only when

the spectator knows ot th reputation and cult

ural

's4nctity' which has become attached to

Lon4rdo ' s

'Mona Lisa ' ,