Page 45 - Introducing Cultural Studies

Ithusser's
Structuralism

The French philosopher Louis of articulation (or "effectivity",
Althusser (1918-90) imported as he says) is only determined
structuralism into Marxism in "in the last instance" by the
his effort to make it a economy. What matter are the
"science". Althusser differences between the levels
conceptualizes society as a and not the apparent "mirror"
structured whole which role that each element plays in
consists of relatively expressing the identity of the
autonomous levels - legal, whole.
political, cultural
whose mode

So, for scientific Marxism,
there is no "society" but only
modes of production which
evolve in history and are
permanently inherent in the
relatively autonomous levels of
the structured whole.

44