The Fundamental Premises of Marxism

The chapter opens with a discussion of how Marxist critics would argue that psychoanalysis and other critical approaches fail to account for “the real forces that create human experience” (43): economic systems. It then summarizes and defines Marxist beliefs. 

First, economics are the “base” upon which the “superstructure,” culture, is built. Economic power is tied to social and political power across socioeconomic classes. Economic conditions are the material circumstances, and the culture created by that material is the historical situation. This system of theories about history is known as “historical materialism.” 

The central conflict in society is between the bourgeoisie, the owners of capitalist production, and the proletariat, wage workers, who are separated from one another by cultural differences like religion. Marx believed that, one day, the proletariat would unite, overthrow the bourgeoisie, and create a classless society.

The Class System in America

Tyson argues that in contemporary America, it is difficult to define a person’s class status, but people can broadly be sorted into five classes: “underclass, lower class, middle class, upper class, and ‘aristocracy’” (45). Those in the lower and underclasses are oppressed by the economic and political systems, as well as ideology.

The Role of Ideology

This section describes the role of ideology in