Reviewing the development of Marxist ideology, Marx and Engels mainly defined the connotation of ideology from the perspective of negative significance. Though the theorists of Second International gradually dispelled the negative connotation of ideology, Lenin interpreted the connotations of ideology from the context of negative, descriptive and qualitative significance, connected ideology with the practices of class struggle, and motivated its active role. In revolutionary practice, he constructed a Marxist ideology theory that integrates criticism and constructiveness. It realizes the realistic transformation of ideology from“criticism”to“function”, that of the principle centers for ideological interpretation from“historical materialism”to “dialectical materialism”,and that of ideological connotation from“cultural carrier”to“class consciousness”. The changes make ideology clearly linked with the cultivation of class consciousness, which not only highlights the class attribute of ideology by Marx and Engels, but also promotes the great development of the theory of ideological connotation.

Editor: Zhong Yao

Studies On Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping Theories.2020.No.2.