The four vertices of an ideologeme square (and an attempt for it to fail)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to relate some contemporary theoretical Marxist developments and ponder on “The collapse of modernization”, in terms of one of the authors we will quote, Robert Kurz. For this, we turn to other related authors, such as Anselm Jappe, Mark Fisher and Mauricio Lazzarato, among others. The argumentative strategy is the following: we present the four vertices that operate as ideological constructions that not only make supportable the discontent generated by capitalism, but also organize desire and horizons for action of most population. Therefore, we propose an interpretative square, with four vertices that express ideological beliefs. We refer to them as: the scarcity ideologeme (starting point), the belief and assessment regarding “work culture”, the always moral character of economy (no politician), and last, the social position assumed as “middle class” joined to the generalized identification with the lives of the “rich and famous”. Finally, and for closure, we return to an analysis based on ideological critique, oriented towards the failure of the ideologeme square. For such a goal we stop sustaining such beliefs, and make space for a certain lethargic and interrupted tradition of countercultural attempts, as forces that are nowadays covered and underground in “capitalist realism” (Fisher).