Page 49 - Introducing Cultural Studies
P. 49
he Influence of Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), political activist, Marxist philosopher
and a founder of the Italian Communist Party, believed that Lenin's
Bolshevik revolution in Russia (1917) could be transplanted to Italy.
He thought the Factory Council movement in Turin and Piedmont
could translate the experience of the Russian Soviets and empower
the industrial working class as a revolutionary force. A general strike
in 1920 was followed by the occupation of the factories throughout
Northern Italy. In fact, this ended in defeat when the government
replaced striking workers with Southern peasants.
48
