Louis Althusser: An Introduction to His First Theoretical Elaborations and Reviews on Their Validity

Abstract

This article is an effort to review Louis Althusser’s thought. Despite Marxism’s deconstruction as a general theory of society, Althusser’s concepts such as “interpellation,” “ideology,” and “rupture,” among others, continue to be used in critical theory by new generations of young philosophers. The essay analyzes the evolution of Althusser’s thought, his theoretical inspirations, and his academic context. It also highlights the importance of his scientific reading of Marx and its consequences on politics. It also reviews the debates with which Althusser faced humanism in politics and Marxism. This is relevant since Althusser tried to influence the communist party starting from what he called the main “discovery of Marx,” that is, the claim of history as science. This article also highlights Althusser’s ambition to use theory as a revolutionary political weapon and knowledge as production. Much has been written about this controversial thinker, but rereading it in his terms reveals one of the most productive stages of French thought and its expansion in the rest of the world. The power of his argumentation and his rigor of reading must teach new philosophers to exercise a form of careful analysis, oblivious to the easy and rapid reproduction of knowledge.