Hegemony is rooted in the struggle for power and influence in a given community. In 1971, Antonio Gramsci wrote in “Selections from Prison Notebooks”, that the ruling class dominates the lower class through intellectual rule. Gramsci added, “The supremacy of a social group manifests itself in two ways, as domination and as intellectual and moral leadership.” This is the foundation of his ideas about cultural hegemony, intellectual and moral leadership. Gramsci started the conversation about hegemony with his theory behind the intellectual and the state. The idea of the “organic intellectual” (Gramsci, 1971) is that every social group forms an intellectual tower and people naturally fall within it. This group of intellectuals serves an essential
…show more content…
It could be anything of value to the society. Thus, it is at the foundation of any hegemonic society. As Gramsci wrote, this type of organizational classification is done out of a need to, “create the conditions most favorable to the expansion of their own class.” (Gramsci, 1971) Hegemony, in this case, is critical to the survivability of the social group. Without this hierarchy and the order it brings, the group is at risk of collapse. This idea of hegemony and social class power has also been a key component of Marxism. In 1845’s “The German Ideology” Marx wrote on “Ruling class and Ruling Ideas”. In this examination Marx found that, “the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas.” This, once again, reinforces the idea that those in charge of a society build the ideas of that society through influence and control. Marx also reinforces the idea of Gramsci’s intellectual hierarchy, calling it the “division of labor” (Marx, …show more content…
The desire to expand one’s own group at the cost of another group is a basic construct of society. To do this, the group must take power. Once that happens, the key to defining hegemony lies with the ability to keep that power.
Whether it is a government, large corporation or small social group, influence is the key to keeping and expanding the group’s reach and power. That is why I believe influence is a pivotal word to use when defining and discussing the idea of hegemony theory. Influence over the lower classes gives the superior class a kind of de facto mandate to rule.
While thinking of how a group uses influence to control the lesser classes, I found myself reflecting on the idea of “moral and intellectual leadership” (Gramsci, 1971). Taking control of the media or pushing propaganda is one way to influence a group. However, the use of intellectual hegemony to build a wall to social movement is also an effective way to maintain control over the lower
It could be anything of value to the society. Thus, it is at the foundation of any hegemonic society. As Gramsci wrote, this type of organizational classification is done out of a need to, “create the conditions most favorable to the expansion of their own class.” (Gramsci, 1971) Hegemony, in this case, is critical to the survivability of the social group. Without this hierarchy and the order it brings, the group is at risk of collapse. This idea of hegemony and social class power has also been a key component of Marxism. In 1845’s “The German Ideology” Marx wrote on “Ruling class and Ruling Ideas”. In this examination Marx found that, “the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas.” This, once again, reinforces the idea that those in charge of a society build the ideas of that society through influence and control. Marx also reinforces the idea of Gramsci’s intellectual hierarchy, calling it the “division of labor” (Marx, …show more content…
The desire to expand one’s own group at the cost of another group is a basic construct of society. To do this, the group must take power. Once that happens, the key to defining hegemony lies with the ability to keep that power.
Whether it is a government, large corporation or small social group, influence is the key to keeping and expanding the group’s reach and power. That is why I believe influence is a pivotal word to use when defining and discussing the idea of hegemony theory. Influence over the lower classes gives the superior class a kind of de facto mandate to rule.
While thinking of how a group uses influence to control the lesser classes, I found myself reflecting on the idea of “moral and intellectual leadership” (Gramsci, 1971). Taking control of the media or pushing propaganda is one way to influence a group. However, the use of intellectual hegemony to build a wall to social movement is also an effective way to maintain control over the lower