• This study attempts to provide clarification and qualified defense of the idea of false consciousness and of the related idea of a critical social theory. ;I suggest that false consciousness typically involves four elements: It is false; it is produced by an oppressive social system; in turn, it supports or reinforces that system; and it conceals or misidentifies people's real interests. I argue that contrary to Foucault, it is possible to identify a form of consciousness as false or ideological…Read more