Antonio Gramsci

Political Theory Italian 1891 – 1937 100 quotes

An Italian Marxist philosopher and politician who developed the concept of cultural hegemony, explaining how dominant ideologies maintain power in society.

Quotes by Antonio Gramsci

The state is the instrument of the ruling class to maintain hegemony.

Prison Notebooks 1930

Optimism is a duty.

Letter 1933

The worker must be educated to become a leader.

Article 1919

Hegemony is won in civil society.

Prison Notebooks 1932

The book is a force of nature.

Letter 1928

To study means to think critically.

Prison Notebooks 1930

The intellectuals are the dominant group's 'deputies' in the superstructure.

Prison Notebooks 1930

Life is a continuous struggle.

Letter 1927

The revolution requires new men.

Speech 1920

Common sense is a fragmented conception of the world.

Prison Notebooks 1932

The task of the intellectual is to interpret the world.

Prison Notebooks 1929

Prison is the school of revolution.

Letter 1929

The masses are the makers of history.

Article 1918

To be a communist is to be a man.

Speech 1924

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.

Prison Notebooks 1931

Criticism is the beginning of knowledge.

Prison Notebooks 1930

The party is the vanguard of the proletariat.

Article 1921

In solitude, one discovers one's self.

Letter 1928

The war of position is necessary for hegemony.

Prison Notebooks 1932

Knowledge is power, but only when organized.

Prison Notebooks 1930