Category: Theory

When we saw Joseph Biden calling for unity at his inauguration, we immediately thought of Gramsci’s line, "The historical unity of the ruling classes is realized in the state." Antonio Gramsci, born 130 years ago, on January 22nd, 1891, lived his life as a revolutionary, from daily agitation in the Turin workers struggles at the end of WWI, through the rise of fascism and his death in Mussolini’s prison. In between, he made fundamental contributions to Marxist theory of strategy and the revolutionary party as elaborated by Karl Marx, Rosa Luxembourg, and V.I. Lenin. In American academia, Gramsci’s important concept of hegemony has often been confusingly used to reject working class activity and concentrate on the articulation of counter hegemony within the domain of culture. Certainly, Gramsci’s intelligent and dialectical cultural writings are useful and enjoyable to read. But, as Leandros Bolaris emphasizes below (translated by Iannis Delatolas), Gramsci’s Marxism was always the "philosophy of action", the theory of the liberation struggle of the working class. When we consider issues like the rise of a new brand of fascism today, the use of social media in spreading false consciousness, or the relation of working class action to the revolutionary party, Gramsci remains a brilliant and useful part of the Marxist tradition.

Marx21 has asked around and compiled this year-end list of twenty-five notable books of 2020. Missed one of your favorites? Write in and tell us.