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An Evaluation of the Chen Jingyuan Case Based on Louis Althusser’s Philosophical Core Ideas

Louis Althusser (1918-1990), a structural Marxist philosopher, revolutionized ideology critique in For Marx (1965) and Reading Capital (1965), positing ideology as a material practice that “interpellates” individuals as subjects, reproducing class relations through ideological state apparatuses (ISAs, e.g., education, media) more subtly than repressive state apparatuses (RSAs, e.g., law, police). His core ideas include overdetermination—contradictions arising from multiple determinations rather than economic base alone—and symptomatic reading, where texts reveal ideological fissures through what they cannot say. Althusser viewed the state as a “machine” sustaining capitalism’s “Problematic,” with revolutionary potential in exposing these contradictions. The Chen Jingyuan case—a doctoral scholar sentenced to 20 months for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” (PRC Criminal Law Article 293) over Twitter forwards—through Althusser’s lens, exemplifies interpellation’s machinery: the judiciary as RSA interpellates Chen as “disruptive subject,” overdetermined by ideological contradictions in “order,” yet symptomatic voids expose the state’s fissured reproduction of power.

1. Interpellation and Subject Formation: The Verdict as Ideological Hailing of the “Disruptor”

Althusser’s interpellation theory describes how ideology “hails” individuals into subject positions, reproducing social relations—e.g., the cop’s “Hey, you there!” summons the subject into compliance.

The sentencing hails Chen as the “quarrelsome intellectual”: “high education implies discernment” interpellates his scholarly forwards (e.g., Hayek critiques or the “Trump-kneeling Xi” cartoon) as “knowingly false disruption,” summoning him into the subject of state enemy. The closed-door trial and “shut up” directive reinforce this: Chen’s prison letter—symptomatically resisting via rumor taxonomy (art/emotion/reason/fact) and avalanche theory—eludes full hailing, exposing interpellation’s fragility. Althusser would see this as overdetermined reproduction: the RSA (judiciary) supplements ISAs (education’s “discernment” ideology), interpellating the scholar-subject to sustain “order,” yet evidentiary voids (unverified posts) fissure the hail, hinting at non-subject resistance.

2. Ideological State Apparatuses and Repressive Machinery: Judicial Overdetermination of “Order”

Althusser distinguishes ISAs (subtle reproduction, e.g., schools instilling loyalty) from RSAs (overt force), with the state overdetermined by contradictions in the social formation.

The case overdetermines “social order” as ideological problematic: Article 293’s RSA (punishment) enforces ISA contradictions—education hails Chen as discerning, yet punishes his discernment (forwards as inquiry). Selective enforcement (millions unpunished) reveals overdetermination: the RSA supplements ISAs (media “harmony”), reproducing power amid fissures like the prosecutor’s admission (no fact-checks). Althusserian symptomatic reading uncovers the unsaid: the non-oral appeal silences Chen’s counter-problematic (non-causal chaos), masking class-ideological tensions—intellectual autonomy vs. state totality. This machinery sustains formation, but anomalies signal crisis: the “evidence chain” as ideological symptom, veiling reproduction’s seams.

3. Symptomatic Reading and Revolutionary Potential: The Prison Letter as Fissure in Ideological Reproduction

Althusser’s symptomatic reading interprets texts for what they must not say, revealing contradictions for revolutionary praxis.

Chen’s letter symptomatically fissures ideology: its taxonomy and theory expose the unsaid—“disorder” lacks determination—challenging the problematic’s totality. Yet suppression (“upper-level instructions”) sutures the gap, reproducing the machine. Althusser would glimpse potential: the case’s contradictions (evidentiary voids) prefigure praxis—interpellation’s failure in selective anomalies hints at subject rupture, echoing his call for “overthrowing the state” through exposed seams.

Conclusion: Althusser’s Lens on the Case—A Fissured Machine of Ideological Reproduction

From Louis Althusser’s structural Marxism, the Chen Jingyuan case is a symptomatic apparatus: interpellation hails the scholar-subject, overdetermined “order” conceals contradictions, and suppressed fissures withhold revolutionary praxis. As of October 22, 2025, no retrial or exoneration has occurred; Chen’s account remains dormant, its silence a latent suture. This case cautions: ideology’s machine cracks under scrutiny—may the fissures widen to praxis. As Althusser urged, “Philosophy is the interpretation of the world to change it”—here, a call to unsay the unsaid.