The Politics of Education: Louis Althusser, Ideological Control, and Critical Consciousness

 “The books are to remind us what asses and fools we are. They're Caesar's praetorian guard, whispering as the parade roars  down the avenue, ‘Remember, Caesar, thou art mortal.’”

— Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Education in the United States has become a critical battleground in ideological control. Across the country, federal and state governments  have inserted themselves into public education and universities, particularly pushing legislative efforts to ban books in efforts of restricting intellectual and cultural conversation: on race, gender, sexuality, and the history of the United States of America. This attack has persisted in the Republican party, long before the Trump era, however has accelerated in recent years, primarily K-12 education– recently legalized in Florida by Republican Governor Ron Desantis’s 2022 “The Individual Freedom Act (IFA)”. School systems are becoming more of an extension of political forces. This censorship on what is taught in the classroom and aim to rewrite school curriculum reveals the larger issue of ideological control and how this bleeds throughout all United States institutions, becoming unavoidable. It is not singularly the content alone that is threatened and controlled, but transcends to control over the collective consciousness. The consciousness of the younger generation is powerful, and precisely because they represent the future of America, they are a target of ideological control. The root of these ideologies serve to hail the consciousness into dominant ideologies: American nationalism. These measures of motivation led by media outlets, conservatives, legislators, and wealthy lobbyists, reveal the initiative to refine knowledge. These developments can be theorized through the framework of twentieth century French Marxist Philosopher, Louis Althusser’s “Ideology and the Ideological State Apparatus.” 

Althusser’s philosophy of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) recognizes how school functions within a broader ideological function. Recent conservative political efforts to censor school curriculum and remove books that address critical social issues represent the threat to State power and the relationship between education and ideological control. The State’s motivation to reshape the educational institution and restore the American image is ultimately to advance particular political and ideological agendas. The American Library Association (ALA) released a report of the ten most challenged books of 2024, including topics on race, gender, and United States and political tensions, such as: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and Sold by Patricia McCormick. Althusser would understand these seemingly developments as part of a larger strategy to define individuals (particularly students) into ideologically conditioned subjects that hail into American nationalism and “interpellates” individuals as subjects, in ways that align with the dominant ideology. Althusser writes, “the State apparatus secures by repression... (to open and tacit censorship) the political conditions for the action of the Ideological State Apparatuses” (Althusser 101). By removing, banning, or changing content that challenges the dominant social order, this conformity reinforces narratives that normalize inequality, historical violence erasure, and American responsibility, which ultimately discourages critical thought. In the conservative imagination, the defense of democracy and “free-thinking” is truly only possible through repression. These acts of censorship reflect the ruling class’s attempt to reshape educational institutions to better reproduce the conditions of their continued dominance, a society that gives power to the ruling class to maintain its success and control.  

Rewriting academic content is not only an active effort to reshape education for the betterment of the state’s control, but can also be understood within a broader ISA context to form individual thought through state-censored versions of truth and history. Exploring this current issue reveals the large significance of the threat to democratic values and free thought. Rather than offering a simple critique on the recent attack on education, this paper considers the broader implications, that meaningful resistance requires a larger transformation of ideological structures that resist “interpellation” or what Althusser refers to as “hailing” into dominant ideologies. The war on education is not independent and alone in this context, but exists within other institutions and domains in having the ability to maintain ideological control. 

Recent political actions to restructure education in the United States reflect a larger ideological project in which schooling functions as a mechanism of ideological reproduction rather than neutral spaces for critical thought. Florida's Individual Freedom Act– informally referred to as the Stop WOKE Act– epitomizes this shift in governing American people. The act prohibits critical discussions concerning structural racism, gender, and systemic inequalities that exist in the United States. Stated under the official white house titleted “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” with the intent to follow a “Patriotic education, (and) presentation of the history of America grounded in: an accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of America’s founding and foundational principles; the concept that celebration of America’s greatness and history is proper” (Trump). There are countless examples of exactly what the Florida state government is targeting– “radical” education that threatens the image of the United States– concerned that the people will reach a collective realization, therefore questioning the ethics and moral intention of the government (ruling class). The Florida Senate defines the CS/HB 7 bill on the protection of “individual” freedom, however, there is a heavier emphasis on unified freedom, in the context of the United State’s image. Revisionism and preservation as a project of national restoration and clean narrative of American history, that minimizes necessary dialogue on racism: 

The bill requires the State Board of Education to develop or adopt a ‘Stories of Inspiration’ curriculum. This curriculum must consist of stories of American history that demonstrate important life skills and the principles of individual freedom that enabled individuals to prosper even in the most difficult circumstances. (Florida)

Official policy rhetoric characterizes such material as “radical,” “harmful,” and “anti-American ideologies,” (Trump), ultimately framing dissent as a threat to national unity and problematic assumption that critical engagement and questioning constitutes anti-american philosophy, rather than encouraging an environment of intellectual curiosity or individual freedom, the law operates to delegitimize dissent. 

Despite being named the “Individual Freedom Act,” the legislation actively works to limit freedom– restricting language teachers may use, histories taught, and identities students can discuss– with the threat, officiated by the White House Government, the withdrawal of federal funding in schools that refuse to follow these principles “including [material] based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.” This paradox exists at the core of its function: claiming this law protects students from indoctrination and liberalism– an ideology that disrupts nationalism, unity, and the state. The Grand Old Party (GOP) imposes its own ideological orthodoxy under the guise of neutrality and “patriotism” diluting nuanced lessons that search for truth and curiosity– the opposite of freedom and free thinking– however this supposed freedom functions through prohibition. Althusser’s exploration of the ISA's function realizes  “the former ruling class are able to retain strong positions there for a long time” (Althusser 99). Ron Desantis and Donald Trump not only want to uphold a clean version of American idealism, but hope to retain power and control, through removing any piece of literature that practices “un-American” expression and challenges the failures of what follows American exceptionalism. Historically, this control has been a strong foundation in instilling these beliefs: “The Nazis infamously burned books to promote their political agenda against Jews and “un-German” political and artistic expression” (Book). During the Nazi regime in Germany, the state was able to form a collective consciousness, engaging with pre-prejudices, and indoctrinating young people into an ideological view (while this is an extreme version of this, it remains relevant to the ideological dynamis unfolding in the United States). 

The ISA, as Althusser examines through Marxist framework, is “an imaginary assemblage,” meaning a “puredream, empty and vain, constituted by the 'day's residues' from the only fulland positive reality, that of the concrete history of concrete material individuals materially producing their existence” (Althusser 108). Ideology provides individuals with a false sense of coherence about their place in society, even as it obscures the real conditions of class struggle and how the people of the state are treated. The ISA operates by embedding these imaginary relations into institutions such as schools and cultural discourse to shape individuals into subjects of the state who internalize dominant values ascribed to them as “common sense.” The censorship of historical truths and critical theories under laws like the Stop WOKE Act. 

The law’s prohibition of terms is in practice now, prompting loss of agency and silenced voices, stated under HB 7 dialogue such as “White Privilege” and “unconscious bias” should not be integrated into student-teacher dialogue, claiming that it “promotes racial discrimination and undermines national unity.” By framing these discussions as forms of discrimination to supposedly undermine this national unity, the legislation constructs an environment where critical thinking is reframed as indoctrination. This policy does not simply enforce ideological conformity through curriculum. This is a clear example of the ISA, the ruling class– the power to weaponize funding and legal prosecution as means of ideological discipline. The institution of education becomes a space dedicated to ideological compliance. Education no longer exists as a space for developing independent thought, but hails subjects (students) into positions that reinforce capitalist, nationalist, and racial hierarchies. Althusser's description of the educational ISA captures this relationships: 

It takes children from every class at infant-school age, and then for years,the years in which the child is most 'vulnerable', squeezed between the family State apparatus and the educational State apparatus, it drums into them,whether it uses new or old methods, a certain amount of 'know-how' wrapped in the ruling ideology (French, arithmetic, natural history, the sci-ences, literature) or simply the ruling ideology in its pure state (ethics, civic, introduction, philosophy). (Althusser 104)

The deployment of repressive, as well as ideological forces relate closely to Althusser’s model of repression supporting ideology. Where the law, the courts, and State power are summoned to enforce ideological reproduction and punish progressive divergence. Althusser specifically lists who has the power within some of these institutions: the educational ISA, the legal ISA, the political ISA, the communication (press, radio, etc.), the Police, the governments, etc.” (Althusser 96). Were Althusser to engage directly with the Stop WOKE Act and figures like Ron DeSantis, he would likely argue that this a clear example of the state’s role in shaping subjectivity. These laws function to produce obedient national subjects, ensuring that the conditions of capitalist and nationalist reproduction remain unchallenged. For Althusser, this is not an excessive overreach of the state, it is exactly how ideological domination is maintained– through the rigid formation of subjects who accept their place in the social order without recognizing the function of their subjection. 

In the article “The Construction of National(ist) Subject: Applying the Ideas of Louis Althusser and Michel Foucault to Nationalism,” Professor of Sociology and academic author Ieva Zake explores the role of ISA in constructing national identity through ideological means and interpellation. Zake uses Althusser’s philosophy to clarify and argue that this idea of how selective history plays a major role in forming subject identities and a collective consciousness– pushing conservative patriotism, which can also be argued to be a white-washed christian aligned American story. The ISA works best when maintaining a national legacy and limiting free thought that “opposes” from unified ideological thinking, perhaps rooted in critique of the country and content that brings forth knowledge on structural inequality. Dialogue that challenges the traditional and conservative way of thinking threatens to shatter this idealized image of the country. Zake uses Althusserian philosophy while including French philosopher Étienne Balibar “The invention of national history and memory has proved to be one of the most successful nationalist tools in creating subjects and interpellating them. In most cases, national history is an ideological invention intended to construct selfhood with a sense of shared collective memory and heritage.” Balibar refers to this ideological narrative as a "retrospective illusion," the belief that ‘the generations which succeed one another over centuries on a reasonably stable territory, under a reasonably univocal designation, have handed down to each other an invariant (historical) substance’ (Balibar 1991:86)” (Zake 236).

Zake’s analysis supports the argument that the public educational institutions are not simply about knowledge, but there is also an underlying intention of upholding nationalist ideals– through ideological formation. This analysis further echoes Althusser’s theory that the Ideological State Apparatus is to produce a dominant view that appears natural, unified, and unchallengeable. And by rewriting curriculum and controlling content that ultimately “cleans” the American foundation/narrative, the effect becomes detrimental. The concept of critical consciousness is dissipated, and departs from truth and the ability to recognize social, political, and economic forces that ultimately form us into subjects– thus losing the power to fight forms of oppression. 

Clarifying who makes up the “ruling class” is essential to understanding how ideological control operates within education. Althusser first defines the ruling class and the basic function of it, first framing this through the Marxist tradition: “the state is explicitly conceived as a repressive apparatus…a ‘machine’ of repression which enables the ruling classes to ensure their domination over the working class” (Althusser 92). While voters (majority registered Republicans) constituency can be misperceived as power, because they put Desantis and Trump in office and may actively support policies such as the Individual Freedom Act, Althusser would argue that these individuals are not apart of the ruling class, but rather subjects interpellated into dominant ideology (even when it goes against their own material interests and/or benefits. They adopt beliefs– such as opposition to “wokeness” and champion educational censorship, defunding public education, or blind patriotism– not because they have positions of power, but because institutions like school and media have taught them to see these values as natural and necessary. 

It is important to briefly include the role of media within this ideological structure. Government officials and lawmakers do not act alone, but are further supported by news outlets and social platforms to amplify these ideological “America first” narratives, affirming they are mainstreamed and legitimized within public conversation. Althusser explicitly names the communications apparatus by means of– press, radio, television– and the critical role it plays in forming ideological subjects, “by cramming every 'citizen' with daily doses of nationalism, chauvinism, liberalism, moralism, etc.” (Althusser 104).  These media forms serve as a critical ISA, reinforcing dominant ideology, and shaping political identities through a controlled flow of information that frames state censorship as necessary for preserving national unity– modern communication apparatuses (conservative biases) including Fox News,  Wash Times, US News, Chicago Tribune (An, J). 

Their role in the ideological function is to help reinforce dominant ideology through electoral support, not to control it. The people become subjects who have the illusion of freedom, when in actuality, their “free” beliefs are determined by a predicated system of restriction. The true ruling class, in Althusserian terms, consists of those who wield influence over the ideological and material apparatuses themselves– conservative political elites, wealthy lobbyists (fund legislation that preserves traditional power structure), media corporations that push these anti-woke narratives, and educational boards who shape policy, public discourse, and curricular content to reinforce the existing social order. These groups all work indirectly or directly to maintain an ideology that protects existing hierarchies (race, class, and gender) and to suppress critique from younger people–an impressionable period to express opinions that perhaps go against traditional American values. In the article “Education or Indoctrination” on the regulation of modern education, scholar Agustina Paglayan studies the reasoning behind this in a broader wordly context, however the mechanism remains the same: 

The effort to create and expand a state-regulated primary education system was an important component of a state-building agenda designed to promote social order. Elites who were early advocates of such systems argued that primary schools would promote order by shaping the preferences, beliefs, moral character, and behavior of the masses…to respect the state’s authority, they claimed, was a worthwhile investment in long-term political stability because children were more malleable than adults. (Paglayan)

 Ironically, the White House organization reasons this law, stating “these practices not only erode critical thinking but also sow division, confusion, and distrust, which undermine the very foundations of personal identity and family unity.” The United States government thrives from corruption, hierarchies, and economic disparities. Leaders in office are able to succeed from these inequalities, and their whole philosophy is based in fear– fear that the voters and the working class will reach a realization through critical discourse and literature, and ultimately fight the system, thus threatening the positions of those in power.  

These developments also reveal the relationship between the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) and the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA). As Althusser theorizes, while the ISA, based in Marxist theory, operates through persuasion, consent, and normalization, the state also relies on legal and economic force to compel ideological conformity. Distinguishing between ideological and repressive power becomes increasingly difficult, thus, this issue exists on both sides of the apparatuses. Laws like Florida’s HB 7 display this relationship clearly– teachers, schools, and universities face not only public scrutiny, but also fines, defunding and lawsuits for noncompliance. 

This dynamic reveals a central paradox: conservative voters who support these laws believe they are reissiting state or institutional control by defending traditional values, but in doing so, fall victim to becoming a controlled subject, and are enacting the very ideological reproduction Althusser describes in his essay. Their resistance to critical (or leftist) dialogue in schools itself is a manifestation of ideological submission; they are “hailed” into roles of protecting freedom and national identity– concepts that are already defined within a capitalist and nationalist framework. The people become agents of ideological reproduction, while believing themselves as powerful opposers. However, it is important to note that this ideological paradox is not limited to the political right. Liberal discourse within education– such as Inclusion initiatives– while often well-intentioned and necessary for democracy, also can be argued to function within the same ideological structure. By intending to raise consciousness through institutional means, they are still operating within the same framework of capitalist schools and state-sanctioned knowledge– also what can be perceived as another “political program” from a philosophical standpoint and that education should exist as a space dedicated to learning rather than “progressive” ideas. As such, the question really is not merely which ideologies are present in the classroom, but who ultimately benefits from the structure that determines what is allowed to be taught at all. 

The contemporary wave of educational censorship and ideological control in the United States– manifested through judiciary power, media, legal, and political apparatuses– represents a coordinated effort to reproduce ruling class dominance and maintain racial, economic, and gender hierarchies, through the mechanism of the ISA. These measures, that are presented as a protection of freedom, actually operate to suppress critical consciousness and arguably prevent the possibility of recognizing and resisting systemic injustice. Althusser’s theory helps reveal how this process is normalized, and when necessary, supported by the RSA, through legal, financial, and social threats. 

Althussers warns that ideology is never absolute; it is shaped by contradictions within material conditions of class struggle. Resistance, thus, is not limited to reforming education solely, as this would still operate within the confines of the ISA. Rather, meaningful resistance involves a structural transformation of ideological and state power, dismantling the apparatuses that reproduce domination and disparities. Althusser would likely argue that a radical reimaging of educational institutions, politics, and media goes beyond capitalist frameworks. Transformation of critical consciousness and collective action is possible, but is formed through challenging the foundations of the system itself– not simply its visible expressions.

References

Althusser, Louis, and Ben Brewster. Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. NYU Press, 2001. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qgh9v. Accessed 7 May 2025.

“American Library Association Kicks off National Library Week with the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024 and the State of America’s Libraries Report.” ALA, 7 Apr. 2025, www.ala.org/news/2025/04/american-library-association-kicks-national-library-week-top-10-most-challenged-books. 

An, J., M. Cha, K. Gummadi, J. Crowcroft, and D. Quercia. “Visualizing Media Bias through Twitter”. Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, vol. 6, no. 2, Aug. 2021, pp. 2-5, doi:10.1609/icwsm.v6i2.14343.

“Book Burnings in Germany, 1933.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goebbels-burnings/. Accessed 13 May 2025. 

Florida Senate. "CS/HB 7—Individual Freedom." 2022 Bill Summaries, Education Committee and Rep. Avila, 2022, https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2022/html/2809.

Paglayan, Agustina S. “Education or Indoctrination? The Violent Origins of Public School Systems in an Era of State-Building.” American Political Science Review 116.4 (2022): 1242–1257. Web.

Russell-Brown, Katheryn. “HB 7, Race, and Florida’s 21st Century Anti-Literacy Campaign.” “The Stop WOKE Act”: HB 7, Race, and Florida’s 21st Century Anti Literacy Campaign, 2023, scholarship.law.ufl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2216&context=facultypub. 

Trump, Donald J. "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling." The White House, 29 Jan. 2025,https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling/.

Zake, Ieva. “The Construction of National(Ist) Subject: Applying the Ideas of Louis Althusser and Michel Foucault to Nationalism.” Social Thought & Research, vol. 25, no. 1/2, 2002, pp. 217–46. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23250012. Accessed 7 May 2025.