• Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) was an influential Marxist theorist of cultural and political domination in developed capitalism.
• His career was mainly that of a radical journalist, socialist activist, cultural commentator, and communist leader in Italy, not a professional philosopher.
• His philosophy serves as a link between Classical Marxism and Neo-Marxism, presenting a novel analysis of capitalist society.
• Most of his writings were focused on immediate political situations and the prospects for revolution in interwar Italy.
• Gramsci was influenced by Italian neo-idealism, traditions from Machiavelli, and major currents of Marxist thought.
• His most important works are the Prison Notebooks, written during his imprisonment by Fascist authorities.
• In these writings, he analyzed the conditions for revolution in modern states like Italy, where popular consent existed.
• He developed the concept of hegemony, meaning intellectual and moral leadership by which a ruling class maintains power throughout society.
• He rejected economic determinism of classical Marxism and instead focused on political analysis that recognized historical variations and contingencies.
• He combined Marxism with neo-idealist ideas of practical subjectivity and emphasized the creation of a new collective identity for revolution.
• Though fragmentary and open to interpretation, the Notebooks offered a radical philosophy of politics that remains important for critical political and cultural theory.
• Perry Anderson sees Gramsci as the most creative Marxist of the West, who expanded Marxism beyond economic determinism through his idea of hegemony.
• Stuart Hall highlights Gramsci’s influence on cultural studies, arguing that hegemony explains how ruling classes secure consent, not just through coercion but also culture and ideology.
• Quentin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith, editors of Prison Notebooks, stress that Gramsci’s thought was rooted in the Italian context yet has universal significance.

Life Sketch

• Born: 22 January 1891 in Sardinia, into a middle-class but struggling family.
• Childhood marked by poverty and illness (Pott’s disease → hunched back, lifelong health issues).
• Father jailed for political reasons → early exposure to injustice.
• Early interest in literature, socialism, and Marxism through his brother Gennaro.
• 1911: Won a scholarship to University of Turin; studied linguistics/philology but couldn’t finish due to poverty & ill-health.
• During World War I, studied Marxist thought and became a leading theoretician.
• Turin exposed him to industrial working-class struggles (FIAT factories, unions).
• Joined Italian Socialist Party (PSI) in 1913; became journalist.
• Published influential essay “The Revolution Against Capital” (1917), supporting Bolshevik Revolution.
• Founded journal L’Ordine Nuovo (1919) – stressed factory councils as base for workers’ state.
• Played a key role in the 1920 Turin general strike led by factory councils.
• 1921: Led leftist split at Socialist Congress (Livorno) → founded Italian Communist Party (PCd’I).
• Spent two years in the Soviet Union (1922–23), engaged with Comintern.
• 1924: Became head of the Communist Party; elected to Italian Chamber of Deputies.
• Became General Secretary of PCd’I (1924), launched party paper L’Unità.
• Authored Lyons Theses (1926) → strategy adapted to Italy’s unique socio-economic conditions (North industrial vs. South agrarian).
• 1926: Arrested by Mussolini’s Fascist regime despite parliamentary immunity. Judge said: “We must stop this brain from functioning for 20 years.”
• Spent rest of life in prison (1926–1937), producing Prison Notebooks → key contribution to Marxist and political theory.
• In prison, wrote the Prison Notebooks—studies on history, politics, culture, and revolution.
• Despite censorship and poor health, he produced groundbreaking theoretical work.
• Released shortly before death in 1937, after years of deteriorating health.
• Major contributions: concept of hegemony, analysis of civil society, role of the Catholic Church, and strategies for the Italian Communist Party.
• His thought shaped Western Marxism and influenced post-WWII communist strategies in Europe.
• Advocated United Front strategy  → closer to Comintern line.
• Died on 27 April 1937, shortly after his release from prison due to deteriorating health.
• Posthumous works:
  • Letters from Prison (1947)
  • Prison Notebooks (complete edition, 1975)
• Central themes in his works:
  • Historical features of the Italian state.
  • Cultural and political conditions of class domination.
  • Principles of revolutionary strategy.
• The Notebooks represent the mature phase of his Marxist thought, integrating history, culture, and politics.