Dominant ideology thesis is associated with Karl Marx and his
claim that each historical era is dominated by the intellectual ideas of its economically
and politically ruling class.
The institutions and culture of a society are widely permeated
by this ideology which provides the key institutions and values of the society with an
appearance of naturalness and inevitability.
It is not claimed that there is only one ideology present
within a society, or that this ideology is without challenge.
Marx's envisages a process of class conflict in society that
develops the contest between dominant ideologies and the ideas or counter ideologies that
challenge them.
The Dominant Ideology Thesis
Nicholas Abercrombie, Bryan S. Turner
British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Jun., 1978), pp. 149-170
Abstract: A good deal of research and theory construction in the sociology of knowledge
relies on the 'dominant ideology thesis'. This thesis suggests that there is in most
societies a set of beliefs which dominates all others and which, through its incorporation
in the consciousness of subordinate classes, tends to inhibit the development of radical
political dissent. In this article we propose a number of reinterpretations of this thesis
which at present systematically ignores the effect of the dominant ideology on the
dominant class. There is good evidence that the subordinate classes are not incorporated
into the dominant ideology and that, by contrast, the dominant classes are deeply
penetrated by and incorporated within the dominant belief system. In most societies the
apparatus of transmission of the dominant ideology is not very efficient and, in any
event, is typically directed at the dominant rather than the subordinate class. We
conclude that there is no well marked dominant ideology in the later phases of capitalism.
Thus, the dominant ideology has the function of maintaining the dominant class's control
over property in feudalism and early capitalism. In late capitalism, however, the changing
nature of the dominant class in terms of a partial divorce between ownership and control
means that the dominant ideology ceases to be crucial for the coherence of the dominant
class. - jstor.org
The Dominant Ideology and Brazilian Tabloids: News Content
in Class-Targeted Newspapers
Frederick Schiff
Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Spring, 1996), pp. 175-206
Abstract: A content analysis of the press in a middle-sized city in Brazil finds that the
news agenda and local scope of the tabloid dailies are oriented to the working classes.
Working-class-oriented tabloids tend to be the strongest ideological supporters of
capitalist legitimacy and continued elite control in the midst of rapid industrialization
and newspaper competition in the provincial capital of Curitiba. More serious papers
oriented toward the middle classes tend to allow for less hegemonic points of view in the
period after the end of the military dictatorship. Ideology variables are shown to be
empirically powerful, second only to agenda-setting in explaining run-of-the-paper news
content and second only to news values in predicting the most prominent news content for
all sampled papers. Stories with dominant ideological themes are played prominently in all
newspapers and, in addition, are run more frequently throughout the tabloids. - jstor.org
WORKERS, FIRMS, AND THE DOMINANT IDEOLOGY:
Hegemony and Consciousness in the Monopoly Core
Steven Peter Vallas
The Sociological Quarterly - Volume 32 Page 61 - March 1991 -
doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1991.tb00345.x - Volume 32 Issue 1
Theorists of work and class relations have argued that organizational processes within the
monopoly 'core' induce employees to identify with the firm and consent to the social
relations of production. The adequacy of this 'hegemony' thesis is evaluated using data
from two Bell operating companies, whose workers hold relatively high-paying primary
sector jobs and are exposed to a strong corporate culture. Although these factors should
favor the thesis of managerial hegemony, the data provide only limited support. In fact,
an oppositional consciousness is fairly common among the workers, but with marked
variations between occupational groups. The data indicate that hegemony theory inflates
the role of ideological mechanisms in the reproduction of managerial control and
underestimates workers' capacity to form a critical consciousness of the employment
relationship. Worker consent should be viewed as problematic—that is, as exceptional,
occurring only under specific social and organizational conditions. -
blackwell-synergy.com
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND RACIAL GROUP INTERESTS AMONG BLACK
AMERICANS
Authors: Shelton, Jason; Wilson, George
Source: Sociological Spectrum, Volume 26, Number 2, Number 2/March-April 2006, pp.
183-204(22)
Abstract: This study assesses predictions from the dominant ideology thesis and theory of
group interest concerning the relationship between socioeconomic status and racial
solidarity across three domains of racial ideology. Findings from a local area sample (N =
184) in Cleveland, Ohio, provide considerable support for the theory of group interest .
Racial solidarity indicators, such as the perception of discrimination, transcend
individual socioeconomic status in constructing a group-based racial viewpoint.
Conversely, traditional measures of class position, such as income and education, fail to
induce attitudinal variation across the analyzed domains, namely causal attributions,
racial politics, and attitudes toward interracial intimacy. In fact, the subjective social
class measure, occupational prestige, tends to promote differences favorable to racial
solidarity. These findings undermine the long-established conclusion that increased
socioeconomic status exerts a conservatizing influence over racially/ethnically-specific
attitudes. The implications shed light on the extent to which racial worldviews exist and
directions for future research are mentioned. - ingentaconnect.com
Cultural Domination and the Reaction to It
Janusz Mucha
Instytut socjologii universytetu Mikolaja Kopernika, Torun
Cultural Domination and the Reaction to It. The article is a part of a research project
devoted to the analysis of dominant cultures as viewed by the cultural minorities. The
text is not about the debate on the cultural domination or a criticism of theories of
domination, nor is it a dialogue with them. Its aim is to present various approaches,
aspects, dimensions and theoretical contexts of cultural domination and reactions to it.
The following issues are discussed in the article: ethnic domination and its mechanisms;
global approach to cultural domination and the center/periphery debate; debates on the
repressive culture of rationality of the Frankfurt School, postmodernism and
post-structuralism; debate on economic, political and ideological domination, including
the “dominant ideology thesis” and Pierre Bourdieu’s structuralism. In
conclusion, the author summarizes his arguments and attempts to present the applications
of the concept of cultural domination to the modern cultural studies.
Sociologic 1999 Vol. 31 (No. 6: 567-586)
Abercrombie, N. and B.S. Turner (1978) ‘The Dominant Ideology Thesis’ , British
Journal of Sociology 29(2): 149–170 |