This week we learned about the term Marxism and its meaning in literature and critical theory. Marxism is about “who benefits and who suffers”; it assumes that class struggle is the root of all struggle and aims for a “classless society”. The power structure of Marxism is between the working class and its workers against the elite and those who take advantage of others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay In literature, class struggle is often the root of all tensions; there are usually opposing forms of status such as rich and poor, black and white, etc. Human culture has always been and always will be determined by economic and material realities, history has been/is eternally about resources and material gains. History rarely, if ever, focuses on external forces such as God and spirituality, nor is it ever determined by individual circumstances. In fact, societies often separate themselves from the very individuals they produced. When applying the lens of Marxism, it is important to remember that politics refers to structured power relations; or any arrangement in which another group controls a group of people. Ideology is described as a “representation” of an individual's imaginary relationship with their real conditions of existence. The best way for me to explain the definition of ideology is to give a religious example: in America, Christian ideology prevents Christians from facing the weight of their problems and prevents them from holding themselves accountable for the magnitude problems happening in the world today. . For what? Because Christians transfer every problem they have or any suffering they see… onto a deity. Religious ideology leads this person to believe that this is a "natural" way to live or the way God intended, when in reality nothing will change unless action is taken. taken. The reality is that Christian ideology or any religious ideology is only a representation of the relationship that person has with reality and their current condition of existence. Tyson p.54 states “In presenting itself as a natural way of seeing the world…” In my comparison, change the word natural to religious; “…repressive ideologies prevent us from understanding the material/historical conditions in which we live because they refuse to recognize that these conditions have any influence on the way we see the world.” Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a paper custom now from our expert editors. Get a Custom Essay Another example is The American Dream. In this ideology, you believe that everyone can succeed, they just need to work and success will follow. This is a false ideology because even when working hard in America, many people still fail. Or if you work too hard and do something illegal, the money may come, but not without a price (jail). The sole purpose of Marxism is to expose these controlling power structures and get rid of them, which will ultimately result in a classless society..