A brief and limited selection of Gramsci's writings from the prison notebooks and other writings. The overall theme being the interaction between civil society/the masses and the state/the ruling class not solely determined by the material circumstances but by the interaction and relationships between material life and culture that create the power dynamics of the modern contemporary times.

if i get crazy enough i'll bust out the gramscian theory

Modern Prens adı nedeniyle kitaptan beklediğim büyük oranda Machiavelli'nin Marksist bir perspektiften değerlendirimi idi fakat bu, kitabın çok az bölümünü oluşturuyordu: haliyle beklediğimi bulamamış olduğumdan çok fazla beğendiğimi söyleyemem de.
Bununla birlikte Gramsci felsefesi konusunda bir merakın uyandığını ekleyebilirim.

Excelente libro. Antonio Gramsci no es un marxista ortodoxo ni mucho menos dogmático. Aun siendo partidario de la tesis del materialismo histórico, reconoce la importancia de la "superestructura", las instituciones, la hegemonía cultural y otros elementos que van más allá del mero análisis economicista del marxismo tradicional. También describe de forma lúcida cual es el deber ser de la acción política y el rol de los partidos políticos, superando el planteamiento leninista de la revolución violenta y los mecanismos sectarios en la toma de decisiones del Estado y de los partidos.

Gute Auswahl ausm Gesamtwerk in kurzer Form. Auch interessant, das nochmal in englischer Übersetzung zu lesen, wenn mans schon auf Deutsch kennt.

Ich hab' die Ausgabe von Foreign Languages Press gelesen, die ist günstig, sieht gut aus und hat sehr schönes Papier.

Kitabın kesinlikle İngilizce okunması gerektiğini düşünüyorum.
-- Uluslararası ilişkiler temel toplumsal ilişkilerden önce mi gelirler yoks bunları mı izlerler? Şüphesiz izlerler.

Da consultazione

The Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci elaborated the idea of hegemony in the early part of the twentieth century. Gramsci emphasizes how values supportive of dominant interests in society get passed on to the masses and thereby, once accepted by the multitudes, come to reinforce the domination by that elite. Political scientists Dawson, Prewitt, and Dawson state that: "Hegemonic theory starts with the assumption that government would not be possible unless the strains and tensions associated with the unequal allocation of values in society were somehow muted. . . . Unless the losers come to see that the way things are is 'natural' or 'appropriate' or 'legitimate,' social disruptions are likely."

Normally, citizens come to accept things the way that they are--as benign, useful, legitimate, and "right." As Gramsci puts it, humans are ". . .conformist to some conformity." This supports the continuation of the status quo--and, by definition, those who benefit from the current state of affairs maintain their sway with this sort of mindset. Those who are powerful and wealthy will stay that way, in part, because the people accept this situation. How does this happen?

The basic premise is that those in power who control the economic and political structures also control the transmission of messages, the views of reality, to the masses. In a capitalist society, those who are not wealthy are continually told that (a) if they work really hard, they can make it and get rich--so do not rock the boat and jeopardize your chances of joining the elite; (b) if the elite get wealthier, then this will trickle down and benefit those who are not in the ranks of the well-to-do. By being told this over and over, the mass of people come to accept their status in society and allow the powerful to stay powerful, the wealthy to stay wealthy.

Hegemony, according to Gramsci, is the result of a bloc of interests united behind a common set of values and norms, which--upon being transmitted to the mass of people through the multitudinous institutions of society--reinforce the power of that bloc. Although an hegemony tends to be stable, change can take place, perhaps through the emergence of a politically conscious working class.

Gramsci, an old Italian Communist, is an interesting thinker. His work is consistent with the idea of "false consciousness," which makes people sound like passive pawns in their own oppression. This might well provide to be unpalatable to many readers. However, he does provide an interesting critique of media, of leaders as willing to manipulate the mass of people. We do know that hegemonies can collapse--witness the end of the old Soviet Union almost overnight. Witness the collapse of East Germany almost overnight. In the end, Gramsci is not an old style Stalinist Marxist; there are many original insights in his work that make him an interesting thinker to explore.

Pudo haber sido un excelente prólogo con la mitad de su extensión.

هذا الكتاب يضم بعضاً مما كتب غرامشي إبان سجنه الذي امتد ١٠ سنواتٍ تقريباً، فيما صار يعرف بعد ذاك بـ(دفاتر السجن).
أفكار كبيرة قدم من خلالها غرامشي رؤيته لتجديد الماركسية، ولكنها كتبت بلغة يبدو تأثير السجن والمرض واضحاً عليها، كما أن غرامشي بدا وكأنه يتعمد في بعض الأحيان طرحها بأساليب ملتوية ورمزية تحاشياً لمقص سجانه

Extremely well written, an interesting argument (kind of the anti-Lenin of Marxists), but unconvincing in his arguments about Machiavelli's intentions. He does lay out some very interesting arguments on the idea of hegemony though.

dont have a review but uh i guess it would of made more sense to read excerpts from the prison notebooks before this. however, the study of philosophy and of historical materialism is a great essay.