How does false consciousness relate to Marx’s critique of capitalism?

While the term "false consciousness" was not used by Karl Marx himself, it is a concept developed by later Marxist scholars to describe a phenomenon central to his critique of capitalism.12

In Marx’s view, the ruling class maintains its power by propagating an ideology that justifies the existing social order as natural, fair, and inevitable. Because the economic structure of society determines social consciousness, the ideas disseminated through institutions like the mass media and religion often serve the interests of the bourgeoisie rather than the proletariat.34

False consciousness occurs when exploited workers internalize these dominant ideas, leading them to misperceive their own position and fail to recognize their genuine interests in challenging capitalist exploitation. This ideological obfuscation acts as a barrier to the development of class consciousness, preventing the working class from uniting to overcome the contradictions of capitalism and achieve a socialist transformation. Ultimately, this concept highlights how systemic inequality is sustained not just by economic force, but by the psychological and intellectual alignment of the oppressed with the interests of their oppressors.132