Antonio Gramsci Biography

Works of the Theorist

Antonio Gramsci was born in the year 1891 in Ales, Sardinia, Italy. He, later on, died in the year 1937 and he was commonly known as an intellectual, Marxist and also a politician who fought for the rights of the people and made sure that justice was maintained at all times (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018). Gramsci was among the people who managed to come up with the Italian Communist Party, and that means all the ideas that were discussed in there were based on aspects of communism. Having in mind that he summed as a Marxist, Gramsci managed to make sure that all the issues affecting the society were touched on in some of the theories that he devised. Some of the social concepts that he put across help us to understand the fact that the world has people from different backgrounds and therefore equality is something that is not easy to achieve.

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Gramsci was better known by many when it came to devising of political theory, linguistics, and sociology. He had the determination to break away from the economic determinism issues that carried out under the traditional Marxist activities, and that was why he was considered as one of the successful neo-Marxists. One of the most commonly known works of the Gramsci was based on the theory of cultural hegemony. The theory was a description of the kind of ruling and leadership that was exhibited by the capital class or the bourgeoisie (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018). He stated that these were a group of people who managed to use the cultural institutions in the society to rise to positions of power. According to Gramsci, the bourgeoisie had the ability or the power to develop a culture that was revolving around hegemony, and they used ideologies instead of coercion, violence or economic force to meet their desires and needs.

Historical Context and Personal Biography

Gramsci's background and historical context had a great influence in the kind of work that he was doing, and that was the reason why he managed to stand out in being called a scholar or the "thinker of today." For instance, by the year 1911, Gramsci started taking part in a brilliant scholastic career that while he was in the University of Turin (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018). At the university, he managed to meet people who made him widen the kind of thoughts that he had when it came issues affecting the society. For instance, Gramsci came into contact with the Socialist Youth Federation after which he registered to be part of the Socialist Party that was established in the year 1914. By the time when World War 1 was getting to an end, he had already managed to study some Marxist tenets and therefore climbed the ladder to become a top-notch consultant as a theoretician.

This historical context shows that he was a man who was determined to understand the way the society was operating and the reason why many issues had to do with societal imbalance. The kind of education that he had at the University of Turin, therefore, affected his work by making it bigger and better (Thomas, 2009). His education, in that case, made him come up with theories that were legitimate and factual only that he faced objections from leaders such as Benito Mussolini who was the then president of Italy. Having in mind that the society was dominated by the capitalist leaders, his study of Marxism made him be able to come up with the Socialist Party that was seeking to have a society that was full of unity and cohesion.

Understanding of Personal Experience

The works of Gramsci as a theorist has been the corners stone when it comes to the kind of personal experience that I have had. This can be seen from the perspective of work and also school. For instance, his work has made me realise the fact that I have not been able to go to good performing schools because there are people who have already been predetermined to be in such places. Such schools are full of students whose parents are well off, and that means they have a better chance of accessing all the resources that they need. This is because they have all the power and money that can be used to get access to the resources and amenities in that line. Therefore, I have finally understood that people are not equal and it will not be easy to achieve the equality that is needed in that line.

Current Social Issues or Problems

The work of Gramsci has made me realise that some of the current issues or problems are as a result of the fact that there is a group of people that are always ready to oppress others because they do not have the mind or power to defend themselves. For instance, the current society has leaders who are depicting signs of dictatorship and are not ready to step down in any way. This is because they have all the money and power that they need to stay on top. Therefore, I have understood the current situation when looked from the perspective of leadership and all that it entails.

The other thing is that there have been international treaties among countries that have the same ideologies and missions to meet. For instance, China and India are two countries in Asia that that have been trying to make sure that they have the same missions and ideologies so that they can conquer whatever that has been put in place by the United States. This means that they are the hegemony countries in the continent and they are using that to take over the powers of the United States. This is a proof of the fact that Gramsci's work was successful and that is treason why can interpret all issues that taking place in the current market when it comes to the changes that are taking place in the economy.

References

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2018). "Antonio Gramsci: Italian Politician." Britannica.

Thomas, P. (2009). The Gramscian Moment, Philosophy, Hegemony and Marxism. Leiden/Boston