Hegemony Defined By Gramsci

Gramsci s concept of hegemony.

Hegemony defined by gramsci. Indeed hegemony is a process in which a combination of economic relations coercion and a dominant culture shore up one another to produce a complex and unified order. Roughly speaking gramsci s hegemony refers to a process of moral and intellectual leadership. The concept of hegemony first appeared in gramsci s notes on the southern question 1926 where it was defined as a system of class alliance in which a hegemonic class exercised political leadership over subaltern classes by winning them over.

The idea came as part of his critique of the deterministic economist interpretation of history. Marx recognised that economic exploitation was not the only driver behind capitalism and that the system was reinforced by a. The idea of a third face of power or invisible power has its roots partly in marxist thinking about the pervasive power of ideology values and beliefs in reproducing class relations and concealing contradictions heywood 1994.

Gramsci particularly in his later work encompassed in the quaderni del carcere or prison notebooks written during the late 1920s and early 1930s while incarcerated in a fascist prison develops a complex and variable usage of the term. He argues that in order to overcome hegemony the proletariat must develop its own counter hegemony to win leadership of society. Gramsci developed the notion of hegemony in the prison writings.

Antonio gramsci is popularly known for his theory of cultural hegemony which describes various cultural and ideological strategies used by the capitalist state and the ruling class the bourgeoisie to maintain the status quo in capitalist society. Gramsci hegemony and history. Hegemony hegemony the dominance of one group over another often supported by legitimating norms and ideas.

Gramsci also understood that action reinforces belief. Hegemony is as much about material forms and practices as it is about ideas. Of mechanical historical materialism hegemony to gramsci is the cultural moral and ideological leadership of a group over allied and subaltern groups.

This article attempts to single out key sources avoiding any unilateral attribution for the concept of hegemony as developed by antonio gramsci throughout the entire course of his prison writings.