Marxism Literary Criticism

Front 1

• Base vs. Superstructure:

Back 1

Base in Marxism refers to economic base. Superstructure, according to Marx and Engels, emerges from this base and consists of law, politics, philosophy, religion, art.

Front 2

• Ideology:

Back 2

the shared beliefs and values held in an unquestioning manner by a culture. It governs what that culture deems to be normative and valuable. For Marxists, ideology is determined by economics. A rough approximation: "tell me how much money you have and I'll tell you how you think."

Front 3

• Hegemony:

Back 3

, this "refers to the pervasive system of assumptions, meanings, and values -- the web of ideologies, in other words, that shapes the way things look, what they mean, and therefore what reality is for the majority of people within a given culture"

Front 4

• Reification

Back 4

often used to describe the way in which people are turned into commodities useful in market exchange.