Gramsci’s focus of research was on why so many ‘ordinary’ working class people go along with fascism. He had found out that people who don’t benefit from a set of policies or an ideology go along with fascism. What Gramsci focused on was the cultural domination which leads him to comprehend social class. He said that “Any class that wishes to dominate in modern conditions has to move beyond its own narrow ‘economic-corporate’ interests, to exert intellectual and moral leadership, and to make alliances and compromises with a variety of forces” (Gramsci , 1930) and also explaining that “culture values of the hegemonic class in society become the ‘common-sense- values’ (Gramsci, 1930).” People start to go along and conform to these ideas without any explanation. Common-sense soon becomes embedded in the victims’ minds. Gramsci stated that “masses consent with state-based political and cultural dominance through what he calls spontaneous consent” (Gramsci, 1930). This spontaneous consent is triggered by social and political aspects that affect and determine people’s decisions, for example, churches and the media. These two examples are constantly relaying messages to the public that can force on a certain belief. But the question is who is it that is in the Hegemonic position of power? What makes a person Hegemonic? Is hegemony something that you are born with or is it something that you acquire throughout your life?
Hegemonic power is often referred to someone who is in a position of authority where they have the power to dictate information to groups of people that allow them to feel in control. The working class can only enter themselves into a hegemonic class if they take into account the interest of the other classes and then try to put them with the persons own interests are also seen as hegemonic.
A couple examples of a hegemonic person would be Hitler. He was the leader of the German Nazi’s that lead to the killings of millions of innocent Jews. He was what defined fascism. He had many thoughts and ideas and carefully dictated them to his people, which eventually led to a holocaust. These people who conformed to his group were manipulated by Hitler to join this group. Hitler’s soldiers could not make their own moral decisions because their common sense had been made up already for them unconsciously by the one and only, Hitler. Hitler’s devastating actions have also been seen as a form of terrorism.
A couple examples of a hegemonic person would be Hitler. He was the leader of the German Nazi’s that lead to the killings of millions of innocent Jews. He was what defined fascism. He had many thoughts and ideas and carefully dictated them to his people, which eventually led to a holocaust. These people who conformed to his group were manipulated by Hitler to join this group. Hitler’s soldiers could not make their own moral decisions because their common sense had been made up already for them unconsciously by the one and only, Hitler. Hitler’s devastating actions have also been seen as a form of terrorism.
is the use of terror as a means of coercion. They are violent acts that are meant to create fear which are used for a religious, political or ideological goal without taking into consideration the safety of civilians. Terrorists do not usually call themselves terrorists; they prefer titles such as freedom fighters, segregators, patriot, militant, and liberator. They see these acts, acts of good and to benefit society as a whole, not just from an individual point of view. Terrorist leaders will relay messages to their victims in which it will benefit their selves but sometimes by using techniques of manipulation. The leader manipulates the scapegoats by telling them what they want to hear and how certain act will be to an advantage of them, just like what Hitler did, and what Osama Bin Laden did to his people. Terrorism manipulates through the vulgarity of terror but hegemony manipulates through power, and excitement. Even though Terrorism and Hegemony are similar in ways, they have the opposite outcomes. An example of today’s terrorist groups would be Al’ Qaeda in the Middle-East.
Terrorism
Terrorism
Gramsci says that a moral and intellectual reform is an essential element of the hegemonic class. One analogy that he uses that I thought was clever was the ‘Ideology as cement’. He says that” ideology is not to be judged by its truth or falsity, but in how efficient it is in binding social elements together and acting as a cement of social unification” (Gramsci, 1971). A hegemonic class can only succeed if there if contribution of other social, political, demographic elements, and the combination of group interests.
Gramsci also states that common sense is not immobile. It is a long process but it is slowly and continually changing itself. But then he makes reference to the mass media as an ideological ‘site of struggle’. “Common sense is not something rigid and immobile, but is continually transforming itself” (Gramsci, 1982: 73). This is how we humans unconsciously make decisions and perceive the world today. It is influenced by folklore, myths and popular experience. People are constantly consciously and unconsciously conforming to groups to feel a sense of self-fulfillment and acceptance. As long as there is inequality, diversity, and political differences in society, there will always be forms of Hegemony.
No comments:
Post a Comment