On the uses and abuses of Gramsci’s hegemony

Abstract

As formulated in classical Marxism, hegemony referred to the unique position of the working class as the only independent revolutionary force under capitalism, as well as its political and ideological relations leading other social groups. Today hegemony typically refers instead to a constellation of arguments that regard a revolutionary orientation as hopeless and deny the unique political position of the working class. I examine the theoretical and political significance of this change by reflecting on Gramsci’s elaboration of hegemony and its dubious appropriation by post-Marxism, broadly understood.