What do you think?
Rate this book
Comment naît le fascisme: Préface de Marie-Anne Matard-Bonucci
- GenresItaly
120 pages
Published October 22, 2025
3 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Antonio Gramsci
562 books994 followersAntonio Francesco Gramsci was an Italian Marxist philosopher, linguist, journalist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a founding member and one-time leader of the Italian Communist Party. A vocal critic of Benito Mussolini and fascism, he was imprisoned in 1926, where he remained until his death in 1937.
During his imprisonment, Gramsci wrote more than 30 notebooks and 3,000 pages of history and analysis. His Prison Notebooks are considered a highly original contribution to 20th-century political theory. Gramsci drew insights from varying sources — not only other Marxists but also thinkers such as Niccolò Machiavelli, Vilfredo Pareto, Georges Sorel, and Benedetto Croce. The notebooks cover a wide range of topics, including the history of Italy and Italian nationalism, the French Revolution, fascism, Taylorism and Fordism, civil society, the state, historical materialism, folklore, religion, and high and popular culture.
Gramsci is best known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how the state and ruling capitalist class — the bourgeoisie — use cultural institutions to maintain wealth and power in capitalist societies. In Gramsci's view, the bourgeoisie develops a hegemonic culture using ideology rather than violence, economic force, or coercion. He also attempted to break from the economic determinism of orthodox Marxist thought, and so is sometimes described as a neo-Marxist. He held a humanistic understanding of Marxism, seeing it as a philosophy of praxis and an absolute historicism that transcends traditional materialism and traditional idealism.
During his imprisonment, Gramsci wrote more than 30 notebooks and 3,000 pages of history and analysis. His Prison Notebooks are considered a highly original contribution to 20th-century political theory. Gramsci drew insights from varying sources — not only other Marxists but also thinkers such as Niccolò Machiavelli, Vilfredo Pareto, Georges Sorel, and Benedetto Croce. The notebooks cover a wide range of topics, including the history of Italy and Italian nationalism, the French Revolution, fascism, Taylorism and Fordism, civil society, the state, historical materialism, folklore, religion, and high and popular culture.
Gramsci is best known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how the state and ruling capitalist class — the bourgeoisie — use cultural institutions to maintain wealth and power in capitalist societies. In Gramsci's view, the bourgeoisie develops a hegemonic culture using ideology rather than violence, economic force, or coercion. He also attempted to break from the economic determinism of orthodox Marxist thought, and so is sometimes described as a neo-Marxist. He held a humanistic understanding of Marxism, seeing it as a philosophy of praxis and an absolute historicism that transcends traditional materialism and traditional idealism.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 1, 2026
J'ai vraiment apprécié la façon dont Gramsci analyse le fascisme : sa genèse, son caractère réactionnaire, la perte de confiance dans les parlements, la complicité des fonctionnaires (notamment la police), et surtout l’alternance entre démocratie et fascisme. Il montre comment la démocratie a besoin du fascisme pour contenir la révolution prolétarienne. Ce qu'expose Gramsci rappelle malheureusement la montée de l'extrême droite dans la plupart des pays occidentaux, et témoigne que le fascisme est à nos portes.
Ce que j’ai moins aimé, c’est que le livre exige une bonne connaissance de l’histoire italienne : certains épisodes cités par Gramsci en exemple m’étaient inconnus.
C’était donc une lecture très intéressante, mais j’aurais peut-être préféré m’informer un peu plus sur le fascisme italien avant.
Ce que j’ai moins aimé, c’est que le livre exige une bonne connaissance de l’histoire italienne : certains épisodes cités par Gramsci en exemple m’étaient inconnus.
C’était donc une lecture très intéressante, mais j’aurais peut-être préféré m’informer un peu plus sur le fascisme italien avant.
January 17, 2026
Many people are familiar with Gramsci's writings dating from the time he was locked away in a fascist prison. His well known thoughts on cultural hegemony are even adopted by the far right these days. This collection of short articles between 1920 and 1924 is less famous, however.
In it, he traces the rise of Italian fascism as it takes place around him. The themes are familiar to us, such as the loss of trust in institutions (like the parliament) and the leader cult. One can already see a great mind at work, despite his relatively young age at the time of writing. Still, as the learnings in the collection are quite well-known these days, I'd say the collection is mostly interesting from a historical perspective.
In it, he traces the rise of Italian fascism as it takes place around him. The themes are familiar to us, such as the loss of trust in institutions (like the parliament) and the leader cult. One can already see a great mind at work, despite his relatively young age at the time of writing. Still, as the learnings in the collection are quite well-known these days, I'd say the collection is mostly interesting from a historical perspective.
January 5, 2026
Grand homme, belle édition
February 12, 2026
Livre à lire en ces temps troubles en France, en Europe et de l’autre côté de l’Atlantique… Comprendre pour ne pas reproduire et pour empêcher le pire avant qu’il ne soit de nouveau trop tard
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews