Gramscian Hegemony

Abstract

This chapter consists of an analysis of the concept of hegemony. It traces its origins in early Marxism, through sedimentation in the thought of Antonio Gramsci, and reformulation in the 1980s, and towards a defence of the concept’s cfontemporary relevance. This chapter has two main lines of argument. The first is to posit that the development of the concept of hegemony within Marxist political theory marks increasing attempts to think the ever-more complex nature of the political world. Because of this, we can best understand our contemporary moment by a further abstraction and complexification of the core concepts of hegemony. As such the author develops an original reading of Gramsci’s hegemony, paying close attention to concepts such as the relation of forces, domination and consent, common sense, the integral state, organic crisis, and the historic bloc.