Capitalism, Class Struggle and/in Academia

In: Critical sociology, Band 49, Heft 6, S. 901-922

Abstract

Class struggle is a necessary aspect of society. While ordinary people engage in struggles to improve their conditions, economically powerful people engage in struggles to defend their privileges. Thus, class struggle is from below and from above. And, class struggle occurs over interests and over ideas. To reproduce capitalism, it is not enough that resources be in the hands of the top 1%–10% thus economically forcing the vast majority to rely on wage work, or that police be used against their picket lines. It is also necessary that a large number of common people must possess ideas that make them accept the existing mechanisms of society as natural or as inherently good for all. But, these ideas are challenged too, which is how ideological class struggle from below happens. Academia is a major site of ideological struggle. Generally, professors propagate ideas that justify the reproduction of capitalism as it is or in slightly modified forms. These ideas can be challenged by students. The main aim of this article is to briefly discuss the nature of ideological class struggle in academia and to present a series of questions from the standpoint of the students who can oppose many of the ideas circulating in academia.