false consciousness

American  

noun

1. a Marxist theory that people are unable to see things, especially exploitation, oppression, and social relations, as they really are; the hypothesized inability of the human mind to develop a sophisticated awareness of how it is developed and shaped by circumstances.

2. any belief or view that prevents a person from being able to understand the true nature of a situation.

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Etymology

Origin of false consciousness

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

It seems like it marries kind of a false consciousness with complete exploitation.

From Scientific American • Sep. 21, 2023

At times, Wilkerson criticizes those, particularly Black Americans, who object to her caste framework as manifesting a form of false consciousness, when there is a legitimate debate over the term’s applicability to the United States.

From Washington Post • Jul. 30, 2020

She stops short of an accusation of false consciousness, but hints at it enough.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 1, 2019

In another, Ms. Perry’s own face, jarringly grafted onto a ready-made avatar though it doesn’t quite fit, impersonates the kind of deeply shocked false consciousness that life inside such systems can foster.

From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2016

A false consciousness is the activity of false thought.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis