During the past year a number of publications related to Gramsci have been sent to us or brought to our attention by members of the International Gramsci Society. We are providing here a description of these publications. See also the bibliographical update by Guido Liguori in the Italian language section of this issue.
Antonio Gramsci & Tatiana Schucht. Lettere: 1926-1935. Ed. Aldo Natoli & Chiara Daniele. Torino: Einaudi, 1997.
This enormous (1532 pages) and very expensive (95,000 Lire) volume contains a copiously annotated reproduction of all the letters that Gramsci and his sister-in-law Tatiana wrote to each other during Gramsci's incarceration. Gramsci's letters to Tatiana are, of course, already available in philologically accurate and complete critical editions. (See, for example, Antonio Santucci's two-volume Italian edition published by Sellerio, and Frank Rosengarten's edition in English translation published by Columbia University Press, also in two volumes.) Furthermore, the most important excerpts from Tatiana's letters to Gramsci have already been published--most notably in Valentino Gerratana's edition of Sraffa's correspondence with Tatiana, but also in the critical apparatuses of the most recent editions of Gramsci's letters from prison.
Nevertheless, there is a great deal of material in this volume that had been previously unavailable in print. Most of this new material may prove valuable to some future biographer who would want to reconstruct Gramsci's prison years in the minutest detail. It is to hoped that someday, someone will undertake to write a biography of Tatiana Schucht--he or she will undoubtedly find this volume to be a source of valuable information.
For those interested in Gramsci's political thought, this volume has nothing new to offer. In his long introductory essay, Aldo Natoli attempts to revive some old polemics about the relations between the PCI and Gramsci. Yet, there is nothing of substance here that Natoli had not already argued exhaustively in his book, Atigone e il prigioniero. His unwarranted attack on Valentino Gerratana's work may raise a few eyebrows; but, in fact, the publication of this volume failed to generate much interest in the Italian press in spite of its voracious appetite for controversy.
Gramsci "specialists" have reason to be pleased that more materials from the Gramsci archives have been made available in print through this edition. Still, this is not the kind of philological effort likely to have much of an impact on the direction of Gramscian studies. One is left wishing [END PAGE 21] that the effort and expense that went into the production of this volume had been invested in the completion of the critical edition of Gramsci's pre-prison writings.
Antonio Gramsci. Filosofia e politica. Antologia dei «Quaderni del carcere». Ed. Franco Consiglio & Fabio Frosini. Scandicci (Firenze): La Nuova Italia, 1997.
The editors of this anthology have put together a very judicious (and diligently annotated) selection of those sections from the Prison Notebooks that deal substantially with politics, philosophy, and the intersections of the one with the other. In addition, the long introductory section of this volume provides the reader with a useful guide to the reading of the Quaderni, as well as a lucid presentation of the most important aspects of Gramsci's distinctive contributions to political philosophy.
The long introductory essay is divided as follows:
I. IL PRIGIONIERO E I QUADERNI: A. 8 novembre 1926--B. Resistere «nelle prigioni di Mussolini»--C. « . . . della vita di Pietro, di Paolo, di Giovanni, di singole persone reali . . . »-- D. «Bisognerebbe far qualcosa "für ewig"»
II. UNA FILOSOFIA PER LA POLITICA: A. «Il ritmo del pensiero»--B. La «religione» della modernità--C. Politica e idealismo--D. Il lessico della «vita»--E. La forza della ragione e le ragioni della forza--F. Passione e ragione--G. Trasformazioni molecolari, singolarità, dialettica
III. GUIDA ALLA LETTURA
The selections from the Quaderni are clustered under the following rubrics:
I. MATERIALISMO STORICO E SCIENZA MODERNA: 1. Problemi fondamentali del Marxismo--2. Struttura e superstrutture--3. Il concetto di oggettività e il lavoro scientifico--4. Traducibilità e stroricità dei linguaggi e delle culture
II. IL MATERIALISMO VOLGARE DI BUCHARIN E LA SOCIOLOGIA: 1. Il «Saggio popolare»--2. La prevedibilità--3. Materia e causa ultima--4. Bucharin e la dialettica
III. IL CONFRONTO CON BENEDETTO CROCE: 1. Ideologie e blocco storico--2. Croce e il materialismo storico--3. Filosofia speculativa e filosofia della praxis--4. Il papa, Croce, Gentile--5. Passione e lotta politica--6. Storia etico-politica e rivoluzione passiva
IV. PUNTI DI MEDITAZIONE SULL'ECONOMIA: 1. La teoria del valore-lavoro come paragone ellittico--2. La legge della caduta del saggio del profitto--3. Regolarità e necessità: il mercato determinato--4. Economia pura ed economia critica
V. FILOSOFIA E POLITICA: 1. Filosofia e senso comune--2. Diritto naturale e folclore--3. Che cos'è l'uomo? Filosofia della praxis e utopia--4. Natura e principio morale--5. Filosofia-politica- economia
VI. SOCIETÀ CIVILE E STATO: 1. Società civile e società politica--2. Sulla crisi dello Stato parlamentare--3. Machiavelli--4. Il moderno Principe [END PAGE 22]
Antonio Gramsci. Para la reforma moral e intelectual. Ed. Francisco Fernández Buey. Introd. Antonio Santucci. Madrid: Los Libros de la Catarata, 1998. This relatively small (152 pages) anthology, meant to introduce Gramsci to the general reader, is inspired by the conviction that the renovation of the left should take as its point of departure Gramsci's call for a moral and intellectual reform, and his conviction that "truth is revolutionary."
The anthology contains, in addition to an introductory essay by Antonio Santucci and a selected bibliography, selections from every phase of Gramsci's life and work.
The first section covers the years 1914-1926 and contains the following texts:
"Socialismo y cultura" (1916); "Tres principios, tres órdenes" (1917); "La revolución contra «El capital»" (1918); "Nuestro Marx" (1918); "Utopía" (1918); "Democracia obrera" (1919); "El consejo de fábrica" (1920); "Carta a Trotski sobre el movimento futurista" (1922); "Dos cartas a Julia Schucht desde Vienna" (1924); "Carta al Comité Central del Partido Comunista (Bolchevique) de la Unión Soviética" (1926)
The second section contains the following texts from the years 1927--1937:
«Habría que hacer algo für ewig» (1927); «Acostumbrarse a la vida del acuario» (1928); «He visto embrutecimientos increíbles en la cárcel» (1929); "Sobre la cuestion de los jóvenes" (1930); "Sobre la verdad, o sea, sobre decir la verdad en politica" (1932); "La sociedad civil y el Estado" (1932); "Paso de la guerra de movimiento (y del ataque frontal) a la guerra de posición también en el campo politico" (1932); "Sobre la «supertición científica»" (1932-1933); "Espontaneidad y dirección consciente" (c. 1932); "Introducción al estudio de la filosofía" (1932-1933); "Taylorismo y mecanización del trabajador" (1934); "Racionalización de la producción y del trabajo" (1934); «Terminar un ciclo de la vida» (1936); «Tengo una dificultad muy garnde para exteriorizar los sentimientos»
Kate Crehan. The Fractured Community: Landscapes of Power and Gender in Rural Zambia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.
In this study of "a marginalized rural society", the anthropologist Kate Crehan makes extensive use of Gramsci's theories and, especially, of the concept of "hegemony." The following excerpt from Crehan's introductory chapter indicates quite clearly those aspects of her work that are of special interest to Gramscian scholars:
. . . I have used a theoretical approach that draws heavily on the work of Antonio Gramsci. Indeed, this whole study can be seen as framed within a Gramscian problematic of "hegemony." Since Gramsci is, as Foucault so neatly put it, "an author more often cited than actually known," and since what Gramsci meant by "hegemony" has been so disputed, I want to explain in some detail what I understand to be the concept of "hegemony" and why I think it, and Gramsci's whole approach, are potentially so useful for Africanists. [END PAGE 23]
In addition to Gramsci himself this will also involve some discussion of Marx and his theorizing of the commodity. I have also drawn on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, using his approach to the production of knowledge, to complement that of Gramsci. I have used both Bakhtin's and Gramsci's work to reflect on how it is that certain groups in society possess what we might call the power to name reality, to describe and categorize the world, and what kind of power this power to name is. . . . Where I want to start this intellectual journey is with the question of Gramsci's relevance for Africanists. Why should anyone interested in contemporary Africa go to an Italian marxist writing over half a century ago?
Eugenio Garin. Con Gramsci. Roma: Editori Riuniti, 1997. This volume comprises Eugenio Garin's most important writings on Gramsci. In his brief preface, the renowned Italian philosopher remarks that the essays collected in this book stemmed from his efforts over the past fifty years "to arrive at a better understanding of one of the most important voices of the twentieth century in Italy."
The book is divided into two parts. The main section, entitled "Con Gramsci" consists of four essays:
"Antonio Gramsci" that was first published in Il movimento operaio italiano. Dizionario bibliografico: 1853-1943, ed. F. Andreucci and T. Detti (Roma: Riuniti, 1976); "Gramsci nella cultura italiana" was originally presented at the first congress of Gramscian studies held in Rome in 1958 and subsequently published in Studi Gramsciani (Roma: Riuniti, 1958); "Gramsci e il problema degli intellettuali" was Garin's contribution to the 1967 congress of Gramscian studies and was printed in Gramsci e la cultura contemporanea, ed. P. Rossi (Roma: Riuniti, 1969); "Gramsci e Croce" is the text of a lecture that Garin delivered at the University of Turin in March 1967 and then published in the "Quaderni" of Critica Marxista, n. 3 (1967).
The second part of the book is a long "Appendix" that includes three review-essays:
"Le Lettere dal carcere" that appeared for the first time in Leonardo, ns. XVI (1947); "Per una nuova lettura" on G. Ferrara & N. Gallo's anthology 2000 pagine di Gramsci (1964) that was published in Paese sera - Libri (19 June 1964); and "La edizione critica dei Quaderni" on Valentino Gerratana's critical edition of the Prison Notebooks that appeared in Paese sera - Libri (8 August 1975)
This book is a must for all serious readers of Gramsci.
Edmundo Lima de Arruda Júnior. Direito moderno e mudança social. Ensaios de sociologia jurídica. Belo Horizonte: Del Rey, 1997.
In this book, Edmundo de Lima (Professor of the Sociology of Law at the Federal University of Santa Clara in Brasil), uses some of Gramsci's most important ideas as the point of the departure for his critique of Brazilian legal theory and practice, and as the inspiration for his call for [END PAGE 24] the elaboration of a new "juridical culture." On the centrality of Gramsci in Edmundo de Lima's work, Michael Löwy makes the following comments (reproduced on the book jacket):
[Edmundo Lima] pertence a uma corrente extraordinariamente fecunda do pensamento crítico no Brasil, que se poderiea intitular gramscianismo brasileiro; uma corrente à qual devemos alguns dos trabalhos mais interessantes no campo da análise marxista da realidade nacional. O gramscianismo brasileiro, que tem em Carlos Nelson Coutinho e Leandro Konder dois de seus mais eminentes representantes, não consiste em uma simples "aplicação" do pensamento do marxista sardo ao contexto brasileiro. Trata-se, come se pode perceber claramente nestes ensaios de Edmundo Lima, de uma dupla reflexão: uma reinterpretação do pensamento de Gramsci à la luz da realidade brasileira e, ao mesmo tempo, uma utilização inovadora dos conceitos gramscianos para compreender essa realidad.
No momento em que a moda do prêt-à-penser neoliberal decreta 'o fim do marxismo'--e trata de impor esse decreto graças a seu controle des meios de comunicação--Edmundo Lima não hésita em avançar no contracorrente, partindo do marxismo do Gramsci para contribuir à construção de uma nova cultura juridica. Evitando os impasses do positivismo e do cientismo que tanto estrago já fizeram nas fileiras do marxismo--tanto europeu como brasileiro--ele não cai tampouco na armadilha do relativismo post-moderno. Uma das grandes qualidades deste livro é que, ispirado pela filosofia da práxis gramsciana, ele tem por objetivo redefinir o papel do direito na 'guerra de posições' entre o capital e o trabalho, e no processo de luta pela hegemonia de um novo projeto social, democrático e revolucionário, 'organicamente' comprometido com a classe trabalhadora.
CONTENTS:
Introdução
I. FILOSOFIA DA PRÁXIS: NOTAS PARA UMA SOCIOLOGIA JURÍDICA CRÍTICA DO DIRETTO. 1. Observações preliminares--2. O marxismo exorcizador do 'princípio da carruagem'--3. Ciência e senso comun fora da tradição positivista--4. O resgate de um novo volunatrismo ético--5. Um Historicismo não Historicista: a filosofia da práxis
II. GUERRA DE POSIÇÃO E NOVAS JURIDICIDADES. 1. Observações preliminares--2. Da atualidade de Gramsci--3. Delimitando o ponto de partida--4. Os operadores jurídicos alternativos enquanto intelectuais--5. Uma tipologia para práticas jurídicas orgânicas
III. OPERADORES DO DIREITO E MUDANÇA SOCIAL: SENSOS COMUNS, NOVO SENSO E OUTROS CONSENSOS. 1. A crise orgânica: possibilidade e processo no direito--2. Sensos comuns e a erosão da cultura jurídica dominante (momento negativo)--3. Novo senso comun e novos consensos: a artesania de uma cultura jurídica alternativa (momento positivo)
IV. DIREITO MODERNO E PLURALISMO JURÍDICO: REPENSANDO A RACIONALIDADE JURÍDICA PROCESSUAL. 1. Considerações preliminares--2. Racionalidade técnica: os sentidos da 'razão instrumental'--3. Enunciando o paradoxo--4. Modernidade: 'A exigência impossível de Marx'--5. Uma tradição moderna: a definição do plural a partir do singular
Conclusão
Bibliografia [END PAGE 25]
Domenico Losurdo. Antonio Gramsci dal liberalismo al «comunismo critico» . Roma: Gamberetti Editrice, 1997.
ABSTRACT:
The young Gramsci challenged the Catholic obscurantism and the positivism of the Socialist party and entered into dialogue with Croce and Gentile. In the neo-idealists, the Hegelian acknowledgement of the legitimacy of modernity was welded to a rigorous historical perspective, which is why they refrained from representing World War I as a "war of the races" or a "war of religions." Gramsci, however, could not accept the neo-idealists' elitism and their hostility towards the masses which are constitutive limits of Liberalism. Rejecting apocalyptic condemnations of the past, Gramsci undertook the task of conducting a critical assessment in which Communism is not a palingenesis but the fulfilment of Modernity and the universalization of the high points of the liberal tradition.
CONTENTS:
Parte prima: PER UNA BIOGRAFIA INTELLETTUALE
Cap. I. Tra Risorgimento e I guerra mondiale: gli inizi di Gramsci. 1. L'incontro con Croce e Gentile--2. Positivismo e neoidealismo--3. Liberalismo e antigiacobinismo--4. La rivoluzione contro il Sillabo Cap. II. «Macello europeo», rivoluzione, fascismo: l'adesione di Gramsci al comunismo [END PAGE 26] critico. 1. Riforme, rivoluzione e guerra--2. La guerra, le élite e la moltitudine bambina--3. Guerra, ingegneria sociale e «socialismo di Stato»--4. Ideologie-teologie della guerra e stereotipi nazionali--5. Guerra e materialismo storico--6. Morale, guerra e rivoluzione--7. Dialettica, guerra e rivoluzione--8. «Guerra rivoluzionaria» e lotta tra «nazioni proletarie»--9. Dal liberalismo al fascismo--10. Rinnegati del liberalismo, comunismo ed eredità liberale--11. Gli USA, la Food Diplomacy e il «complotto tedesco-bolscevico»--12. Americanismo e antiamericanismo--13. Liberalismo, socialismo e questione coloniale--14. «Umanesimo integrale» e comunismo
Cap. III. Contraddizione oggettiva e prassi umana: Gramsci e il neoidealismo italiano. 1. Una categoria del tutto formale--2. Fichte e le filosofie della prassi--3. Centralità della categoria di contraddizione oggettiva--4. Prassi, «autoprassi», intimismo--5. Teoria/prassi e morale/politica: unità e distinzioni--6. Marxismo, attualismo, pragmatismo--7. Volontà di potenza, materialismo storico e critica della metafisica del soggetto--8. «Le ideologie non creano ideologie»: Gramsci interprete di Gramsci
Parte seconda: IL MARXISMO E IL «COMUNISMO CRITICO» DI GRAMSCI
CAP. IV. Legittimità e critica del moderno: Gramsci, Marx e il marxismo novecentesco. 1. Gramsci, Marx e la teoria della rivoluzione--2.La complessità e i tempi lunghi della rivoluzione-- 3. Marx, Engels e la «decadenza ideologica»--4. Problemi di periodizzazione storica--5. Decadenza ideologica o rivoluzione passiva?--6. Decadenza ideologica, meccanicismo e impazienza rivoluzionaria--7. Anarchismo e delegittimazione del moderno--8. Decadenza ideologica della borghesia e putrefazione dell'imperialismo in Lenin--9. Gramsci e la presa di distanza dalla tesi della «putrefazione» e del «crollo» dell'imperialismo--10. Liquidazione della modernità, escatologismo e anarchismo nel marxismo novecentesco--11. Gramsci e il marxismo novecentesco--12. Da Fichte a Hegel, ovvero dall'escatologismo al comunismo
Cap. V. Estinzione dello Stato? Il comunismo fuori dell'utopia. 1. Marx, Engels e lo Stato--2. Potere politico e amministrazione--3. Lenin e la faticosa presa di distanza dall'escatologismo e dall'anarchismo--4. «Stato etico», «società regolata» e comunismo--5. Critica del liberalismo e critica dell'anarchismo nell'evoluzione di Gramsci--6. Anarchismo, meccanicismo e stato d'eccezione permanente: la tragedia dell'Urss--7. Stato, nazione, mercato, «nuovo uomo»: al di là dell'utopia
Parte terza: LA DIFFICILE EMANCIPAZIONE; GRAMSCI L'ELITISMO ITALIANO E IL «MARXISMO OCCIDENTALE»
Cap. VI. Eredità proletaria ed elisir borghese; un confronto dai tempi lunghi. 1.Critica dell'ideologia e problema dell'eredità--2. Marxismo «critico» e lotta per l'egemonia--3. Antico regime borghese e doppiezza ideologica--4. Proletariato, borghesia e reciproca influenza ideologica--5. Una «doppia revisione»--6. La costruzione proletaria del «proprio gruppo di intellettuali independenti»--7. Gli intellettuali organici
Cap. VII. Gramsci esponente del «marxismo occidentale»? 1. Oriente e Occidente in Lenin e Gramsci--2. Dittatura ed egemonia tra Oriente e Occidente--3. Gramsci contra Nietzsche--4. Gramsci come sfida e come elisir
Ivete Simionatto. Gramsci: sua teoria, incidência no Brasile, influência no serviço social. Florianópolis: Ed. da UNFC & São Paulo: Cortez, 1995. Antonio Gramsci has had, and continues to have, an enormous and widespread impact on leftist thought and politics in Brazil. His influence has been especially strong in the field of social studies. In this book, Ivete Simionatto, provides a critical analysis of the "fortunes" of Gramsci in Brasil and of the circulation of his ideas in the sphere of social work.
CONTENTS:
Prefácio
Introdução
I. A TRAJETÓRIA INTELECTUAL DE GRAMSCI: 1. Da Sardenha a Turim--2. As Cartas e os Cuadernos do Cárcere--3. A concepção de hegemonia--4. Os intelectuais e o partido político--5. A teoria do Estado ampliado--6. A concepção de ideologia e filosofia da práxis--7. Americanismo e Fordismo
II. O BRASILE E AS IDÉAS DE GRAMSCI: 1. O percurso inicial e os obstáculos junto à esquerda--2. Gramsci e o debate acadêmico--3. A divulgação do pensamento de Gramsci: tempos e temas--4. Gramsci e as interpretações do Brasil
III. GRAMSCI E O SERVIÇO SOCIAL: 1. Tempo e História--2. Primeiros atores--primeiras idéias--3. A proposta de Safira Bezerra Ammann--4. A proposta de Alba Maria Pinho de Carvalho--5. A proposta de Marina Maciel e Franci Gomes Cardoso
IV. O LEGADO DE GARMSCI E A CONTEMPORANEIDADE [END PAGE 27]
Luiz Werneck Vianna. A revolução passiva. Iberismo e americanismo no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Revan, 1997.
In this volume, Luiz Werneck Vianna employs Gramsci's concept of "passive revolution" to conduct a critical analysis of a central aspect of the socio-cultural and political history of Brazil (ie., Iberianism versus Americanism), and of the present Brazilian situation. His general approach is succinctly articulated in the following excerpt from his "Introduction":
Restava o desafio de explicar o que teria levado uma elite politica de genuinas raízes ibéricas, como a dos anos 30, a se empenhar tão vigorosamente em impor rumos americanos para a sociedade brasileira, num duro contraste com o regime de Salazr, para quem a conservação de velha Ibéria era um fim em si mesmo. Levar Gramsci a sério obrigava, pois, a reler as questões clássicas do iberismo e do americanismo na imaginação social brasileira.
This study, in addition to making a valuable contribution to the study of Brazilian society, culture and politics, provides an excellent example of the broad relevance of Gramsci's concept of "passive revolution" and of his reflections on the phenomenon of Americanism. Furthermore, this book constitutes an important intervention in the current debates on modernity and postcolonialism.
CONTENTS:
Apresentação
1. Caminhos e descaminhos da revolução passiva à brasileira
2. O ator e os fatos: a revolução passiva e o americanismo em Gramsci3. O problema do americanismo em Tocqueville
4. Americanistas e iberistas: a polêmica de Oliveira Vianna com Tavares Bastos
5. A institucionalização das ciências sociais e a reforma social: do pensamento social à agenda americana de pesquisa.
The Japanese periodical, Forum published a special issue (No. 3, 1996) on Gramsci, edited by Hiroshi Matsuda.
This special issue, entitled "Rereading Gramsci", contains essays by Hiroshi Matsuda on the relevance of Gramsci for the study of contemporary politics, society and culture; Kimio Ito on Gramsci and cultural studies; Minoru Tabata on the philosophy of praxis, Nobaki Kurosawa on hegemony and education; and Kaoru Katagiri on the uses and interpretations of Gramsci's ideas during the last decade.
The Japanese monthly periodical, Jô kyô [The Situation] published a special issue--vol. 8 no. 6 (July 1997)--on Gramsci with the following articles:
Alex Demirovic: a translation into Japanese of his essay "Löwe un Fuchs. Antonio Gramsci Beitrag zu einer Kritischen Theorie bürgerlicher Herrscaft" [END PAGE 28]
Saito Hideharu, "Civil Society and Hegemony. Gramsci and Post-Marxism"
Tabata Minoru: "Every Man is a Philosopher. Gramsci and the Active Forms of Philosophy"
Fujioka Hiromi: "Gramsci and D'Annunzio. The Missed Encounter and the Gramscian Evaluation of D'Annunzio"
Ogura Tyûtarô: "Since 1930s. To the Counter-'Conter-Revolution'"
Yasui Yutaka: "Gramscian Fetishism"
Fujita Tomoji: "On the Regeneration of Intellectual and Moral Hegemony in Gramsci"
The Italian bi-monthly Alternative Europa, no. 4 (April-May 1998) has published a special section, "Per Gramsci", in its most recent issue; it includes the following articles:
Giuseppe Prestipino: "La dialettica secondo Gramsci"
Rino Malinconico: "Come rendere attuale la lezione di Gramsci"
Domenico Iervolino: "Una lezione 'für ewig'"
William Gambetta: "Gramsci il giovine"
Pasquale Voza: "Gramsci e la 'continua crisi'"
Elisabetta Gallo: 'Marxismo Orientale, marxismo Occidentale"
Ohara Koichi has translated Mario Alighiero Manacorda's Il principio educativo in Gramsci: Americanismo e conformismo (1970) into Japanese. The translation was published in 1996.Marina Paladini Musitelli has edited Gramsci e la società di massa (Trieste: Istituto Gramsci del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 1997)
This booklet consists in the proceedings of a "round table" discussion that was organized by the Gramsci Institute of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in conjunction with the Istituto Gramsci di Udine, and was held in Udine on 7 February 1997. It contains the brief presentations of Giuseppe Petronio (President of the Istituto Gramsci del Friuli-Venezia Giulia), Marina Paladini Musitelli (University of Trieste), Michele Ciliberto (University of Pisa), Giampaolo Gri (University of Udine), Angela Felice (Civica Accademia d'Arte drammatica "Nico Pepe", Udine), and Giorgio Baratta (University of Urbino).
Belfagor, LII, V (September 1997) contains the following two articles on Gramsci:
Joseph A. Buttigieg: "Il paradosso Gramsci"
Gianfranco Corsini: "Indiana Gramsci" [END PAGE 29]
Critica Marxista, no. 2/3 (March-June 1997) contains two articles on Gramsci:
Aldo Tortorella: "Il fondamento etico della politica in Gramsci"
Lelio La Porta: "Gramsci e la rivoluzione d'Ottobre"
Antonio Santucci, "La 'filologia vivente': Eugenio Garin e il metodo di Gramsci" in The Italianist, no. 16 (1996), pp. 364-375.
Hiroshi Matsuda has published an essay, "Guramusi ni akeru 'conformismo' Gainen no seisei" (the development of Gramsci's concept of "conformismo" in the Prison Notebooks) in the Ritsumeikan Social Science Review, vol. 33, no. 2 (September 1997).
Maurice A. Finocchiaro (Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Nevada--Las Vegas) has informed us that his new book, Beyond Right and Left: Democratic Elitism in Mosca and Gramsci will soon be published by Yale University Press. He has kindly provided us with the following summary of the forthcoming volume:
This book elaborates three main theses of increasing order of generality. The most specific thesis asserts that Gramsci's political theory is a critical elaboration or constructive critique of that of Gaetano Mosca (1858-1941). The intermediate conclusion claims that Mosca's and Gramsci's political theories belong to the tradition of democratic elitism, which is a distinctive and fruitful tradition of political thought that aims to combine democracy and elitism. The most general thesis holds that Mosca's and Gramsci's democratic elitism helps us see the unimportance of the conventional dichotomy between the political Right and Left (although these concepts remain meaningful).
Mosca is best known as the author of a treatise originally published in 1896 with the title Elements of Political Science, and then translated into English as The Ruling Class (1939); he is a classic source for the so-called theory of elites or elitist school in political sociology, as well as a founder of the discipline of political science. There is also a scholarly consensus that his "political science" had practical and ideological implications, which he tried to actualize in his own activity as a columnist and as a government official in the executive and legislative branches. These implications are widely regarded to have a conservative character; indeed, many regard him as a classic exponent of the right.
Here, democratic elitism means the following. By elitism is meant a theoretical orientation which takes the most fundamental principle to be the distinction between elites and masses or leaders and led, and which then tries to interpret all political phenomena in terms of various relationships between the two groups. By democracy is meant the special relationship between elites and masses such that elites are open to renewal from the influx of elements from the masses; [END PAGE 30] and this definition is the basis for an original and distinctive theory of democracy. The democratic elitism of Mosca and Gramsci also includes a conception of political liberty as a relationship such that authority flows from the masses to the elites; and this is a feature of their approach which may also be called democratic in the ordinary sense of the term, though not in the technical elitist sense.
This critical interpretation is documented and elaborated primarily by means of textual analysis and conceptual reconstruction of Mosca's most important works (including The Ruling Class) and of Gramsci's Prison Notebooks. Further, there is an emblematic case study of critical comparison, which focuses on some significant similarities between the speeches which both Gramsci and Mosca made in the Italian Parliament in 1925 opposing the Fascist law against Freemasonry. There is also a sketch of Gramsci's life aiming to portray him sub specie aeternitatis. The discussion of the tradition of democratic elitism includes an account of Robert Dahl's classic contribution to democratic theory. And the critique of the distinction between Right and Left includes a critique of Norberto Bobbio's magisterial ideas on the subject.
At a more controversial level, the book suggests that Gramsci is much less of a radical revolutionary, Mosca much less of a reactionary conservative, and both thinkers much closer to the political center and to each other than commonly supposed. On the other hand, the book also implies that theoretically, intellectually, and conceptually they are much more radical than ordinarily believed because democratic elitism represents an extremely distinctive orientation in political theory.