By Michael Beach

Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser expands on the Marxist idea of a two level superstructure describing a two part apparatus that maintains power for the ruling class.

The most obvious part is the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA), which include institutions like the military, government, and police. The RSA use direct physical force, violence and repression to maintain order. The other part is the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA), which include social institutions like schools, churches, and book clubs. The ISA maintains power primarily through ideological pressures. Althusser further describes ideology as the “imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence.” It maintains the social illusions and delusions such as sexism, racism, egoism, and classism through media, newspapers, advertisements etc.

When our Alice goes to college, like other students, she is eager to consume new information in haste but quickly becomes overwhelmed. Not only is she forced to fit into society’s idea of what it is to be a good student, but also the veil of innocence is removed as the problems and intricacies of the world become clearer. It is like an expanding mind in a shrinking skull. Depending on how well one can balance the transition from silent observer to active participant, knowledge can lead to destruction or power. It is this balance that Alice is aiming to find in her underworld experience in academia. How does one find a solution to the World’s problems when the problem is meta, systemic and infused in every facet of society? This undertaking may seem impossible, but having a mind is reason enough for great optimism and hope. The Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan once said, “There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening.”