This episode explores the Marxist concept of base and superstructure, defining the base as the economic mode of production and the superstructure as the non-economic institutions, culture, and ideologies of a society, with the base essentially determining the superstructure. The episode applies this theory to literary criticism, using a short story to examine class distinctions and the workings of bourgeois ideology. Another significant text, by Louis Althusser, expands on the superstructure by introducing the concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), such as the educational and religious systems, which function predominantly by ideology to ensure the reproduction of the relations of production. Conversely, it several criticisms of traditional Marxism, arguing that modern capitalism is less exploitative, the class structure is more complex than a simple binary, and the superstructure is too large to be entirely controlled by the ruling class, challenging the direct correlation proposed by the original base-superstructure model. this episode examines the foundational principles, complexity, applications, and critiques surrounding this core Marxist framework for understanding society and its dominant ideologies.

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