Ruling class ideas

[Althusser]

I've read that the ideas of the ruling class (their own legitimacy as ruling class, racism, sexism, national chauvanism, etc.) are the dominant ideas in class society, and the working class assimilates to it. When taking a dialectical materialist analysis, it seems clear that it's not about "just changing the people's ideas" because that's an idealist approach.

In order to change the ideas of the people, there needs to be class struggle and revolution to change the material conditions of the people to change their ideas.

What are some examples in history and today of the ruling class making a conscious effort to conserve their ideology. I think I have a basic idea, but I want a more complete one.

[garrus]

it seems clear that it's not about "just changing the people's ideas" because that's an idealist approach.

In order to change the ideas of the people, there needs to be class struggle and revolution to change the material conditions of the people to change their ideas.
So you need to have a revolution to change peoples ideas, and you need to change peoples' ideas to have a revolution.Kinda circular.


dialectical materialist analysis
I think that's your problem.

Those with propaganda means shape and forcibly share their ideology.Couple that with the monopoly of legitimate violence, and you have your ideology as the standard social contract.

As far as revolution goes,my take is that material conditions give rise to feasible plans to embody revolutionary ideas.
For example, anarchistic ideas have been around long before the rise of capitalism.But it was the rise of capitalism that made possible the actual creation of an anarchist(/communist) society, through the increase of productivity and production concentration.
So with the plan now feasible, such ideas have more fertile ground to grow upon, and are (objectively) non-utopian, thus being a more appealing mindset for the people.

[Clarion]

I've read that the ideas of the ruling class (their own legitimacy as ruling class, racism, sexism, national chauvanism, etc.) are the dominant ideas in class society, and the working class assimilates to it.

You shouldn't take that too far. The ideas in a society are a result of material conditions and the social relations that emerge from them, but that doesn't mean that all the working class ideas are those imposed by the bourgeoisie. Trade unionism is not, communism is not etc.

The same is true of some of the examples you list. Sexism has increasingly been broken down by the development of capitalism as women were brought into the work force they became financially independent for the first time. Racism, also, can't really be said to be a ruling class idea. Prejudicial discrimination costs money, so big capital doesn't like it. That is not to say that some, or alot of racism isn't a result of capitalism. It is. Just as the demand for labour brought women into the workforce, it also created a demand for immigrant labour which created a much more competitive labour market and has often undermined the wages, conditions and employment of the workers in the country that is receiving immigrant workers. But such prejudices arise in the working class and the petty bourgeoisie organically, not by imposition of big capital, whose interests it tends to conflict with.

[Lokomotive293]

You shouldn't take that too far. The ideas in a society are a result of material conditions and the social relations that emerge from them, but that doesn't mean that all the working class ideas are those imposed by the bourgeoisie. Trade unionism is not, communism is not etc.

The same is true of some of the examples you list. Sexism has increasingly been broken down by the development of capitalism as women were brought into the work force they became financially independent for the first time. Racism, also, can't really be said to be a ruling class idea. Prejudicial discrimination costs money, so big capital doesn't like it. That is not to say that some, or alot of racism isn't a result of capitalism. It is. Just as the demand for labour brought women into the workforce, it also created a demand for immigrant labour which created a much more competitive labour market and has often undermined the wages, conditions and employment of the workers in the country that is receiving immigrant workers. But such prejudices arise in the working class and the petty bourgeoisie organically, not by imposition of big capital, whose interests it tends to conflict with.

I wouldn't say racism conflicts with the interests of capital at all, and it also doesn't conflict with the demand for immigrant labor. Apart from being great for war propaganda, racism divides the working class, and it serves as legitimation for low wages and bad working conditions for immigrant workers. Those in turn work to keep the wages low for the working class as a whole.

Nevertheless, it's true, that, capitalism undermines its own material and ideological base. That's dialectics.