ABSTRACT
Marx speaks of a ‘capitalist ideology’, of the ‘ideological superstructure’ of capitalist society and its relation to the economic base. Some of the beliefs which would comfortably hold a place within the capitalist ideology include the following: the efficiency of the market to regulate the distribution of goods; the desirability of perpetual economic growth. Capitalist ideology appears today to be peculiarly criticism-resistant – whilst other ideologies have crumbled or fight hard to maintain their grip, it keeps a tight hold and indeed is spreading to fill the ideological spaces left by the less compelling rivals. This chapter examines what is arguably the most seductive aspect of the capitalist ideology: its emphasis on freedom. Journalists have a sense of the idea that ‘market economy’ and ‘liberal democracy’ refer to the two sides of the same coin, one referring to the economic, and the other to the political aspects of the capitalist ideology.
