false consciousness

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of false consciousness¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

The first step in addressing this situation for Biden and the Democrats is to accept that voter unhappiness stems from real concerns and not false consciousness driven by Fox News panic.

From Slate

Here's a sample: In the mid-1990s, the longtime host of NPR’s “All Things Considered” program, Robert Siegel — operating within a lofty “public radio” bubble — wrote a letter to the industry newspaper Current declaring that Chomsky “evidently enjoys a small, avid, and largely academic audience who seem to be persuaded that the tangible world of politics is all the result of delusion, false consciousness and media manipulation.”

From Salon

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

From Scientific American

He argued that cultural, ethnic and social identities “are the principal lines of conflict” between Middle Americans and progressive elites and that the “religious orientation of the Christian right serves to create what Marxists like to call a ‘false consciousness’ for Middle Americans.”

From New York Times

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

From New York Times