Page 50 - Introducing Cultural Studies

egemony

Despite his immunity as an elected member of parliament, Gramsci
was arrested by the Fascists in 1926 and spent the rest of his life in
prison. He had the misfortune of "enforced leisure" to reflect on the
socialist defeat and the crucial role of culture in society.

The key term in Gramsci's thought is hegemony, which is critical for
an understanding of history and the structure of any given society.
Hegemony is what binds society together without the use of force.

To achieve this leadership, compromises are made with the working
classes and a general consent is generated. Gramsci saw this
process as the key to the success of liberal democracies in Britain
and France. Both negotiation and consent are essential terms for
understanding hegemony. Ideas, values and beliefs are not imposed
from above, neither do they develop in a free and accidental way, but
are negotiated through a whole series of encounters and collisions
between classes.

Culture is one of the key sites where struggle for hegemony takes
place; and it is in the arena of popular culture that the issues of
"moral and intellectual leadership" are resolved.

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