Raymond Williams and the Politics of Culture: A Critical Analysis of Culture and Society and the Foundations of Cultural Materialism

Abstract

This article critically examines Raymond Williams’s Culture and Society in light of his foundational contributions to cultural materialism and the broader field of cultural studies. Williams conceptualizes culture not as a static or elitist construct but as a dynamic, lived process embedded in the everyday practices and social relations of a community. Through his Marxist-inflected critique of culture, literature, and media, Williams challenges traditional hierarchies of aesthetic value and offers a historical materialist framework for interpreting cultural transformation. Central to his analysis is the triadic model of cultural forms—the residual, dominant, and emergent—which enables a nuanced understanding of cultural change across historical periods. The article explores how Williams uses five pivotal terms—industry, democracy, class, art, and culture—to trace semantic and ideological shifts linked to the socioeconomic upheavals of the late eighteenth century. By foregrounding culture as “a whole way of life,” Williams redefines it as both a product and a force of historical development, deeply intertwined with political struggle and social structure. This study situates Culture and Society within the ideological context of its Cold War publication, highlighting its continued relevance to contemporary debates in cultural theory.