Ideology and the problem of knowledge

The purpose of this article is to deal with certain problems stemming from the concept of Ideology. It begins by describing some aspects of the ‘ordinary notion’ of ideology, and goes on to criticize a standard (the economic determinist) interpretation of Marx's position. It then deals with a problem traditionally connected with ideology, the so‐called Problem of Knowledge, and argues that it is a pseudo‐problem. The article concludes by proposing a conception of ideology as synecdoche which, it is claimed, helps us to avoid some of the mistakes imbedded in the Problem of Knowledge and the economic determinist interpretation of Marxism.