Unravelling Gramsci: Hegemony and Passive Revolution in the Global Political Economy

by Adam David Morton

Unravelling Gramsci makes extensive use of Antonio Gramsci's writings, including his pre-prison journalism, prison letters, and prison notebooks, to provide a fresh approach to understanding his contemporary relevance in the current neoliberal world order. Adam David Morton examines in detail the themes of  hegemony, passive revolution, and uneven development to provide a useful way of analyzing the contemporary global political economy, neoliberalism, state formation, and practices of resistance. The book explores the theoretical and practical limitations to the use of Gramsci's ideas today.

"Powerful and clarifying . . . a landmark volume."
---John Agnew, University of California, Los Angeles

"Morton draws upon an impressive knowledge of Gramsci's writings to provide new insights into key processes in today's world order."
---Anne Showstack Sassoon, Kingston University and Birbeck College, University of London.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Political Science, Theory

272 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2007

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best companion to Gramsci that I have encountered so far. Morton goes beyond merely simplifying and interpreting Gramsci's body of work, he places it both in Gramsci's social context and in ours. In doing so, Morton makes Gramsci's philosophy come to life - it becomes a living, breathing creature very much relevant to today's conflicts and social crises, not just the crushing weight of fascist Italy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels both drawn to Gramsci's theories and stumped by the density of his writing: I have been there, and this book gave me a path forward. One of the best books I've read in years.

[Utopian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gramsci'nin hegemonya ve pasif devrim kavramsallaştırmalarını günümüze ve uluslararası perspektife genişletmeye yönelik anlamlı bir çaba. 1980'lerden günümüze uzanan neoliberal dönüşüm sürecinin dünya çapına yayılışını bir pasif devrim süreci olarak kurmaya çalışmış. Yazarın kendi deyimiyle pasif devrimden bir "portmanto kavram" olarak faydalanılmış. Kavramın bu kadar geniş ele alınmasına dair çekincelerim olmakla birlikte Meksika üzerine yaptığı analiz ve "pasif devrime" karşı bir direniş modeli olarak EZLN üzerine yapılan çıkarımlar takdire değer. Gramsci'yi siyaset bilimi ve uluslararası ilişkiler alanlarında günümüze aktaran "neo-gramscici" perspektiflere de çok temel bir eleştri getiriliyor. Çağrı açık: Gramsci'nin fikirleri ve hegemonya momenti egemenin kendini yeniden kurma pratikleri çerçevesine oturtulurken bundan bir negatif tarihselcilik üretilmemeli. Egemenin hegemonik iktidarına odaklanıldığı ölçüde karşı-hegemonya çabalarının ve direnişin imkanlarına odaklanmak Gramsci'ye teorik evrenlerinde yer veren herkes için bir görevdir.

[Caitlin Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5! I read this out of curiosity about how we might apply Gramsci's theories to media and power today, and despite being published in 2007 (pre-social media, in the widespread sense), Morton is unbelievably thorough and engaging in his application of Antonio Gramsci to the modern era. A solid book to end 2023. My New Year's Resolution is to address issues of power and how we are going to change the tone of contemporary capitalism... WE RIDE AT DAWN!

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a useful book unless you're a communist and Gramsci is your hero. This book venerates Gramsci, speaking reverently of correctly interpreting his nuanced words. What crap! Communism needs understanding so that none of us fall for its misleading dogma!