Chapter 9, Ideology Materialized Summary and Analysis

Chapter 9 presents theses 212 through 221. Chapter 9 begins with a short quote taken from The Phenomenology of Mind by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Chapter 9 is the shortest chapter of the text and considers ideology—most translations position the discussion in a playful tone. Ideology is the basis of thought; ideological facts are not real, but the do impact education. Ideology becomes legitimized by victory. Once victorious, ideology vanishes into the bases of society—it leaves no history behind. Ideologies are ephemeral. An ideology's completion is its disintegration into society. The spectacle is ideology par excellence.

The political economy produces only one need—money; and money is the only need of the political economy. Individuals within the society of the spectacle experience a fusion of schizophrenia and catatonia. Their isolation is complete and is further strengthened by...