- A Repressive State Apparatus is how the government is able to control the people. It is done through the threat of violence. Althusser called it “repressive” because it is a form of control in which there are entities in place that force people to “follow” the rules. For example, these entities would be the police, the courts and prisons. These entities are in place to instill fear upon people to not break the rules and end up in prison where you don’t have the freedom to move and do as you please (as long as it is within the parameters set by the government).
2. An Ideological State Apparatus are in place to prevent the change to the status quo. The Ideological State Apparatus’ are politics, mass media, and schools. The point of the Ideological State Apparatus is so no person doesn’t think about inequality or do anything to change it. An example of this would be electing a president. Essentially, we are choosing to vote for who we believe is the lesser “evil,” but in reality there isn’t too much of a difference.
- Politics: This is in place to maintain status quo by affording the people a choice. The people have a choice of which party they are “more” in line with, but nothing changes based on which party you choose.
- Mass Media: The media essentially puts out the many different brands who offer the same service or product and the people have the choice on which brand they go with. For example: Nike, Adidas, New Balance, ASICS, HOKA, etc. all offer running shoes but you have the option to choose which running shoe brand to purchase.
- Schools: This is the most powerful Ideological State Apparatus because it is mandatory that you attend school as a child. As a child in school, they are taught by a teacher to obey, raise their hand, not to talk out of turn, follow instructions, clean up after yourself, and ultimately how to submit to authority. As children are learning these things, they also learn that there are consequences when you don’t follow these rules. In school, the consequence is detention, suspension or expulsion, or a call/meeting with your parent. All of these things are to prepare a child to grow and fall in line with the rules and regulations once they are an adult. However, the consequence of not following the rules as an adult is a lot harsher and includes paying a large fine, community service or going to jail and it being a permanent thing that is listed on your record. School is the introduction to accept authority.
3. RSA is the government maintaining order in a society by use of threat or force (ex: laws, police, prisons, military. ISA are the systems that spread ideologies that reinforce the status quo.
4. Repressive Status Apparatus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf5vpzMIgyU
