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Why Is Assent Willing? Culture, Character and Consciousness

  • Throughout history, people have accepted ideologies that >legitimate< certain hierarchical social arrangements and subsequently valorize the >desirability< of consent to the system and its leadership cadres. While rules, norms and regulations, as well as leadership, are essential for social life in any complex society, all too often certain political economic systems, their dominant values and leadership cadres tend to move beyond maintaining social order if not harmony, and instead become systems of domination, subjugation and exploitation of subalterns. For the most part people have >willingly consented< to class and ideological domination. But why do people consent to systems/leaders that act contrary to their self-interests whether economic, political or personal (self-direction/realization)? This has often been understood as >false consciousness<, a term first used by Engels and Lenin. But this concept raises a number of questions about culture, mediation, desire, agency and the limited capacity of people to understand social reality without a strong party. For Gramsci, hegemony, the ideological control of culture, fostered >willing assent< rather than simply compliance to power. His insights are especially valuable given how millions of Americans vehemently support economic policies that benefit only the elites, while their own economic situations become more precarious. They oppose unionization, universal healthcare and deny global warming .We must ask why so many people >willingly assent< to policies that benefit only the wealthy and thus act contrary to their own economic political self-interest and actively engage in denial of the consequences of their actions.

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Metadaten
Author:Lauren Langman
Parent Title (English):Critical Sociology, Vol. 41 (No. 3, May 2015), pp. 463-481.
Document Type:Articles
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2015
Release Date:2015/12/14
Format:no download and copy possible
IdNo:Langman_L_2015
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Articles / Artikel
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Articles / Artikel
Licence (German):
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