Antonio Gramsci was a militant intellectual and communist leader in interwar Italy. He was politically active during the crisis of Italy's liberal institutions and their subsequent replacement by Mussolini's fascist dictatorship. Gramsci ended up in gaol as a “subversive” of the regime. Imprisoned for over ten years before his death (in Rome, on conditional release), nevertheless he succeeded in writing a vast collection of notes and essays on political, philosophical and cultural matters. When published after the Second World War, these “Prison Notebooks” and particularly their guiding concept – hegemony – became a major source for the revision of Marxist theory and politics. His insights have earned Gramsci the status of “classic” political thinker with a distinctive…
2581 words
Citation: Martin, James. "Antonio Gramsci". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1835, accessed 21 November 2024.]