Page 96 - Critical and Cultural Theory

IDEOLOGY
nature. Power would be a flimsy thing if it were to rely on
coercion or wealth alone. In fact, the dominant classes can only
assert their authority in convincing ways if they are able to project
their world view onto the social order and make it appear as
common sense. Hegemony differs from ideology because it does
not merely refer to the values of the dominant classes but rather
to a whole series of processes through which those values are
perceived as part of the natural order of things by those who are
oppressed by them. (Gramsci 1971).
Various aspects of Marxist theory have been influenced by the
writings of the Idealist philosopher G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831).
His system is based on a dialectical notion of history as the
progressive unfolding of an unchanging spiritual essence. 3 The
trajectory of human history can be read as a gradual revelation of
the Spirit in its evolution towards self-consciousness, marked by a
systematic movement towards higher and higher ends. Whilst
retaining the dialectical principle, Marxism redefines this approach
to history by emphasizing the material dimension of human
experience. For Hegel, history is an evolutionary process that
proceeds towards an identifiable goal - the full expression of the
Spirit - and gains coherence from this immaterial concept. Marx's
dialectical materialism, conversely, maintains that history has no
predictable end or sense of direction imposed by abstract forces.
Any historical change will always depend on material transforma-
tions of the base and on the ways in which class struggle manifests
and resolves itself.
Hegel has also influenced Marxist aesthetics. According to the
Idealist philosopher, the material and sensuous forms of artworks
are only ephemeral manifestations of deep philosophical messages.
Thus, a text's form should be dismissed as superficial, and its
content prioritized as the reflection of an underlying reality. This
notion has given rise to the approach commonly described as
reflection theory. One of the most famous (and, for some, crudest)
applications of this concept of art is Andrey Zhdanov's socialist
realism. This style flourished in the Soviet Union under Stalin and
aimed at glorifying the regime through overwhelmingly positive
images of labour and of its cultural symbols. Many would readily
associate it with often monumental pictures and sculptures of

l*"This idea is also discussed in Part III, Chapter 4, Time'.

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