ABSTRACT
This conclusion begins by providing a brief summary of the material covered throughout the book as well as the key arguments presented. The various purposes of this work (beside the reconstruction of a theory of ideology) are also highlighted. A paragraph is then dedicated to the various controversies surrounding Marxist theory the book was not able to cover: Technological determinism vs political Marxism, Nikos Polauntzas, Ralph Miliband and Bob Jessop on the state, and the implications (of this theory) for socialist movements today. The final paragraphs discuss the historic specificity of the theory proposed and its limits. As the work is specifically tailored to address western capitalist societies, the framework presented cannot be employed for the study of past societies. While as a theory, (despite what might be its strengths) I argue that the framework presented must be used to formulate a hypothesis which must then be checked empirically. It should not be conceived as a method which proves things a-priori. Furthermore, I argue that the method might be inadequate for the analysis of social phenomena where the economics/politics connection might not exist.
