Abstract:   In response to the poststructuralist thinking in the West, John Fiske has proposed a theoretic paradigm for explaining the dynamics for social changes. However, his theory of mass consumption has often been criticized for overlooking the macro structure of a society while exaggerating the openness of the mass culture. Such criticism has not only evaded the questions put forward by Fiske, but also neglected his theory of cultural politics developed in his later years. This article argues that as mass culture is political in nature, Fiske demonstrates the moral character of organic intellectuals in his endeavor to explore the positive potential of mass culture for the protection of mass power.

Key words: mass culture, cultural politics, cultural power