--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Occasionally, the whole class struggle…" description: "\"Occasionally, the whole class struggle may be summed up in the struggle for one word against another word. Certain words struggle amongst themselves as..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/louis-althusser-23865_adversity_occasionally-the-whole-class-struggle-ma_2240950.jpg" --- # Occasionally, the whole class struggle may be summed up in… ![“Occasionally, the whole class struggle may be summed up in the struggle for one word against another word. Certain words struggle amongst themselves as enemies. Other words are the site of an ambiguity: the stake in a decisive but undecided battle” quote by Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/louis-althusser-23865_adversity_occasionally-the-whole-class-struggle-ma_2240950.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/louis-althusser-23865_adversity_occasionally-the-whole-class-struggle-ma_2240950.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f5/louis-althusser-23865_adversity_occasionally-the-whole-class-struggle-ma_2240950.jpg) > “Occasionally, the whole class struggle may be summed up in the struggle for one word against another word. Certain words struggle amongst themselves as enemies. Other words are the site of an ambiguity: the stake in a decisive but undecided battle” [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote likens class struggle to a linguistic battle, where words compete as enemies or ambiguous sites, reflecting ideological conflict. **In simple terms:** Class conflict is like a war of words. Key Takeaway Analyze language to uncover hidden power dynamics. Themes class struggle language ideology conflict Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political discourse - education - media analysis Key Concepts semiotics marxism dialectics Questions to Reflect On - How do specific words shape class perceptions? - Can language resolve or deepen conflicts? A Different Perspective Complex metaphor may oversimplify material conditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) [Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Class struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-struggle/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“There is some relationship between the hunger for truth and the search for the right words. This struggle may be ultimately indefinable and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-is-some-relationship-between-the-hunger-for-truth-and-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The survival or preservation of certain favoured words in the struggle for existence is natural selection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-survival-or-preservation-of-certain-favoured-words-in-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The two most powerful words when we're in struggle: me too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-most-powerful-words-when-we-re-in-struggle-me-too/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What characterizes a poem is its necessary dependence on words as much as its struggle to transcend them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-characterizes-a-poem-is-its-necessary-dependence-on-words-as/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-the-struggle/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [ However much an ideologue tries to bury \[Lenin\] beneath a proof by historical analysis, there is always this one man standing their on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/however-much-an-ideologue-tries-to-bury-lenin-beneath-a-proof-by/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [ “There exists \[a\] word in German, Geschichte, which designates not accomplished history, but history in the present, doubtless determined in large part, yet only… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/there-exists-a-word-in-german-geschichte-which-designates-not/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [“Everything that happens in philosophy has, in the last instance, not only political consequences in theory, but also political consequences in politics: in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/everything-that-happens-in-philosophy-has-in-the-last-instance-not/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [Philosophy is, in the last instance, class struggle in the field of theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/philosophy-is-in-the-last-instance-class-struggle-in-the-field-of/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [The economic class struggle is a struggle against inessanlty intensified exploitation: not only against the brutal material form of exploitation, capitalism's tendency to reduce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/the-economic-class-struggle-is-a-struggle-against-inessanlty/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [“If you have to convince someone to stay with you then they have already left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/if-you-have-to-convince-someone-to-stay-with-you-then-they-have/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [I’ve been all three. And now I’m undecided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/i-ve-been-all-three-and-now-i-m-undecided/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [Obama's major accomplishment is himself. This can be an effective argument to make to undecided voters and something Obama has to artfully address.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-yoffe/obama-s-major-accomplishment-is-himself-this-can-be-an-effective/) [Emily Yoffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-yoffe/) > [The election makes me think of a story of a man who was dying. He had only two minutes to live, so he sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-election-makes-me-think-of-a-story-of-a-man-who-was-dying-he-had/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“If I say “No decision has been made,” it’s a lie—because I have decided to remain undecided.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-i-say-no-decision-has-been-made-it-s-a-lie-because-i-have-decided/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Louis Althusser > [One of the goals of philosophy is wage theoretical battle. That is why we can say that every thesis is always, by its very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/one-of-the-goals-of-philosophy-is-wage-theoretical-battle-that-is-why/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [What art makes us see, and therefore gives to us in the form of 'seeing', 'perceiving' and 'feeling' (which is not the form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/what-art-makes-us-see-and-therefore-gives-to-us-in-the-form-of-seeing/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [In the battle that is philosophy all the techniques of war, including looting and camouflage, are permissible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/in-the-battle-that-is-philosophy-all-the-techniques-of-war-including/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [The economic class struggle is a struggle against inessanlty intensified exploitation: not only against the brutal material form of exploitation, capitalism's tendency to reduce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/the-economic-class-struggle-is-a-struggle-against-inessanlty/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [In truth, ideology has very little to do with 'consciousness', even supposing this term to have an unambiguous meaning. 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What really takes place in ideology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/whatseems-to-take-place-outside-ideology-to-be-precise-in-the-street/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [“Everything that happens in philosophy has, in the last instance, not only political consequences in theory, but also political consequences in politics: in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/everything-that-happens-in-philosophy-has-in-the-last-instance-not/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [ “There exists \[a\] word in German, Geschichte, which designates not accomplished history, but history in the present, doubtless determined in large part, yet only… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/there-exists-a-word-in-german-geschichte-which-designates-not/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [The ultimate condition of production is therefore the reproduction of the conditions of production](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/the-ultimate-condition-of-production-is-therefore-the-reproduction-of/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [“...Marx was constrained to think within a horizon torn between the aleatory of the Encounter and the necessity of the Revolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/marx-was-constrained-to-think-within-a-horizon-torn-between-the/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [Relations of production are first reproduced by the materiality of the processes of production and circulation. But it should not be forgotten that ideological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/relations-of-production-are-first-reproduced-by-the-materiality-of/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) [Explore all 25 Louis Althusser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. 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She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) S.E. 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