1st Edition

Gramsci and Contemporary Politics Beyond Pessimism of the Intellect

By Anne Showstack Sassoon Copyright 2000
    184 Pages
    by Routledge

    184 Pages
    by Routledge

    Can politics now be both radical and realistic? Gramsci and Contemporary Politics is a collection of Anne Showstack Sassoon's writing which spans the major transitions from Thatcher and Reagan to Clinton and Blair; the collapse of communism to the regeneration of social democracy. Applying original interpretations of Antonio Gramsci's ideas on the intellectuals, political language, civil society and political leadership, she argues that drawing from the past, and broadening contemporary sources of political and academic knowledge can contribute to a grounded, radical hegemonic politics which can bring about change.

    Chapter 1 Facing the Future, Evaluating the Past; Part 1 Theoretical Foundations; Chapter 2 The Challenge to Traditional Intellectuals; Chapter 3 The Politics of The Organic Intellectuals; Chapter 4 Gramsci’s Subversion of the Language of Politics; Part 2 Political Interventions; Chapter 5 Equality and Difference; Chapter 6 Back to the Future; Chapter 7 Beyond Pessimism of the Intellect; Chapter 8 From Realism to Creativity; Part 3 Reflections and Explorations; Chapter 9 Rethinking Socialism; Chapter 10 Dear Parent…; Chapter 11 Subjective Authenticity, Cultural Specificity, Individual and Collective Projects;

    Biography

    Anne Showstack Sassoon’s publications include Gramsci’s Politics, and Women and the State: The Shifting Boundaries of Public and Private. She is Professor of Politics at Kingston University, UK.