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

This is not the triumph for false consciousness that it might appear to disappointed activists.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2022

But One Night in Miami still can’t keep itself from caricaturing Cooke’s pre-“Change” pop career as being defined by accommodationist false consciousness and fudging its history in order to do so.

From Slate • Jan. 12, 2021

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

From The New Yorker • Nov. 1, 2019

A false consciousness is the activity of false thought.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis