In this paper the author discusses the concept of hegemony as a tool of political analysis. He reviews the history of the concept within the Marxist tradition (Kautsky, Bernstein, Sorel, Gramsci), focusing in the key part of the paper on the idea of hegemony in contemporary context, especially on Ernesto Laclau's views. In conclusion the author interprets the theory of hegemony as a rescue strategy whose aim has been to save Marxism ,,from the inside''. In his view, Ernesto Laclau aims to achieve this goal by eliminating from the Marxist theory the residues of essentialism, and by combining Marxism with the theory of discourse and deconstruction.
Review of the book "Humanistyka i dominacja. Oddolne doświadczenia społeczne w perspektywie zewnętrznych rozpoznań", red. T. Rakowski, A. Malewska-Szałygin, Warszawa 2011, ss. 321.
The purpose of this article is to discuss the ongoing trade conflict between the United States and the People’s Republic of China during the coronavirus crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has been going on for more than 10 months, and its effects have become another subject of dispute between both powers. In particular, the economic and trade agreement concluded in February this year between the US and the PRC will be analyzed. The basic question underlying the analysis relates to what will be the consequences of the signed declaration: can unexpected returns be expected? What happens at the next lockdown? Is the agreement meant to overshadow the ongoing struggle for global hegemony? In addition, the consequences of the Sino-US trade war for the international supply chain and the world economy during the coronavirus must also be considered. Systemic changes taking place in the world economy, accelerated by the prevailing SARS-CoV-2 virus, will also be described. The considerations will be based on the search for a new paradigm for the operation of the international economic system. So far, the focus has been on minimizing production costs. Today, one must also take into account other elements that were forced by the prevailing epidemic, including security of supply of goods. The topic is important because its issues are topical and very dynamic. Therefore, it is also worth examining and taking a closer look at the phenomenon that has dominated and blocked today’s world.
The article is an attempt at providing description of the functioning and transformations of masculinity in culture, and above all in literature after 1945. Whileemploying theoretical languages of R.W. Connell and K. Silverman, well‑rooted in the tradition of masculinity studies, the author strives to reconstruct its dynamics, which is shaped by tension between two categories: hegemony (as the required position of masculinity ensured by military experience) and trauma (as a real and long‑term result of this experience). The tension between the cultural discipline of hegemony and the increasing awareness of trauma shapes other oppositions, which makes it possible to model the historical course of the transformations of masculinity and leads to the creation of postmodern, demilitarized and “depatriarchalised” male habitus. One of their distinguishing features is reevaluation of the previously neglected spheres of male experience, such as fatherhood.
The article is a discussion of the book by Wojciech Śmieja entitled: Hegemonia i trauma. Literatura wobec dominujących fikcji męskości. The author of the article concentrates on highlighting the importance of the Silesian scholar’s publication for Polish studies on masculinity. He describes the historical and theoretical literary framework of the presented work, paying attention to the rich exemplification of the analyzed issues. He also undertakes a discussion with some theoretical assumptions of the book, especially in the context of the implications of Kaja Silverman’s model and draws attention to some of the interpretation problems associated with the use of this theoretical approach. The author, thus, proposes an outline of alternative ways of reading the texts of Jacek Podsiadło and Szczepan Twardoch, pointing to the possibility of shifting the focus from Silverman’s approach of masochism to the issue of specificallyunderstood individuation as the possibility of a different interpretation of the male position – an interpretation which contests the patriarchal social order.
This article examines how Facebook groups in Sweden, that focus on the environment, address issues of sustainability. The research, conducted over a one-year period (May 2019–April 2020) combines mapping analysis, which identified a population of 152 environment-focused Facebook groups, and quantitative content analysis, which gives the overview of how these groups represent sustainability and human-nature relations. The analysis pointed to an overwhelming support for counterhegemonic, ecocentric positions, coupled with a strong critique against the hegemony of anthropocentrism. These findings relate to the general discussion concerning the potential of social media to function as spaces where hegemonies are contested and the vision of social change, in this case about the environment, takes shape, but also to the limitations of such possibilities.
According to Chantal Mouffe’s conception of agonistic pluralism I will analyse the role which one of Jenny Holzer artwork plays in hegemonic struggle. Lustmord. is the work produced in 1993 as an example of undermining the memory discourse about military action during Bosnian War. The artist places violence against women into the centre of war strategy thereby giving voice to the victims rather than to the winner. I hope to find out if Lustmord creates an agonistic dimension of public space.
Aim. The proposed study examines the subversive polemics of Fo’s theatre which serves as a catalyst for social, political and cultural change. It aims to foreground the revolutionary politics of Fo who uses theatre to combat the oppressive system bringing to fore the working-class struggle for a classless society. The present study will be done with the help of the analysis of Fo’s select plays. These plays will be interpreted using the Gramscian framework of cultural consensus, an enabling provision of authority and control and the role of intellectuals in countering the same. Concept. The paper underlines the significance of art in facilitating a deeper understanding of the complex social realities of our world. The paper engages with the question of power and control, oppression and marginalisation as well as art and education as contextualised in Dario Fo’s theatre. Results. Fo’s use of drama to humanize the history of Italian working classes tells us about the expedience of art to enage with matters most urgent. This tells us that art and culture can be an important link in the mobilization authoritarism. Conclusion. A comprehensive discussion on power politics is presented in the paper with the aim of keeping people informed of the subtle working of these underlying structures which govern power relations in society. Originality. The originality of the study is contingent on investigating into how power is acquired, legitimised, practised, and maintained, how it can be resisted and what role art and artists play in the construction, dissemination and opposition of it.
This paper analyzes the politics of bluefin tuna in Malta within the first years of EU accession (2004-9). The paper concludes that despite making certain impacts, ENGOs (environmental non-governmental organizations) were unsuccessful in creating a hegemonic formation to stop the fishing of bluefin tuna until stocks recover.
The South Korean film industry represents a masculine-privileged gender regime that over the last few decades has shown a newfound strength both at home and abroad. However, challenging this masculine privilege are a growing number of important though unheralded female writer–directors operating in both the independent and commercial sectors of the industry. In this article, we present a case study that explores the work of five of these female writer–directors within this context. We begin by asking two key questions: can female writer–directors find a voice within the Korean film industry that challenges the traditional gender stereotypes both within the industry and in the wider Korean culture? How can the Korean experience connect to the Western experience? The first methodological step in explicating the case study is the setting out of a particularly Western theoretical approach that emphasises the idea that masculine privilege exists hegemonically within the so-called “hegemony of men.” We then go on to highlight specific elements in the work of these female writer–directors that expose aspects of both challenge and constraint within the hegemony of men. We conclude that although the work of these female writer–directors indeed challenges tradition and gendered stereotypes sustained within the hegemony of men, such challenges represent moments of reformism rather than revolutionary systematic change.
The paper aims at studying the problem of dominance of some states over others in international communication. The hypothesis of the study is the idea that one of the reasons of the inequality of states is the hegemony of democracy. We can designate this amazing phenomenon as “political racism.” Democracy has defined the dominant political race in the last decade. States that do not belong to this “higher” race are recognized as inferior, dangerous for the countries of the “democratic race.” The danger of political racism lies in the transition to “fascist democracy.”
This paper is an attempt to analyse European leadership and the role played by a reunited Germany in the European Union. The author proposes five fundamental theses: 1) the reunification of Germany ruined the balance of power in Europe; 2) the Eastern enlargement of NATO and the EU has moved the zone of political and military influence of the USA to the line of the Bug river; 3) the Germans have confirmed their position as a European power; 4) the foreign policy of Angela Merkel is a continuation of Gerhard Schroder’s policy, meaning a transfer of the focus from European policy to prioritising German national interests; 5) the German issue has remained open.
The article is devoted to analysis of various countercultures aspects. The Author hypothesizes that the forms of contemporary politics are the result of two fundamentally interrelated strategic vectors. First is built upon a politics of ressentiment, setting “ordinary” folks against the socio-cultural elite which constututed to the "new right" movement. Second vector is originated of counterculture of the 1960s. The author states that counterculture exist without a singular identity. It is a space of hybridity and heterogenity. On the other hand counterculture is related to the concept of contemporary ambivalence as well it transforms of affective experience of everyday life. Another feature of counterculture is connected with the conviction that counterculture stands against of dominant culture. Also the author puts counterculture movements against various aspects of new american modernity including reconstruction of the practice of the hegemony, as well as through popular culture and reconstruction of the "left" and "right" idelogy and practice.
The aim of the article is the reconstruction of innovation studies. The object of analysis will be selected knowledge forming mechanisms applied within this scientific area. There will be made an attempt to prove that the idea of innovation was used as the element of hegemonic strategy imposed by international organizations in order to maintain the existing rules of social reproduction. The methodological perspective adopted in the analysis is the constructivist model of cognition, among others, represented by A. Zybertowicz. According to it, the knowledge is determined by the circumstances and mechanisms of the social structures acting in the processes of converting interpretation into facts. Consequently, one is searching for the answer to a question: what role in this process play institutions of the power and money and their rhetorical devices. The research problem is analysed through the prism of two mechanisms: the motion of selective tradition and the strategy of expertise involved. Analysis of existing data and organizations’ reports, reveals that associates of the organizations, e.g. Ch. Freeman, constructed knowledge about the innovation on the foundation of ideological pre assumptions entered in their mission. Also the mechanism of selective tradition had no basis in the form of scientific research in the area of innovation studies, still it was applied due to the hegemonic rationality of the international actors. Therefore, in the field of innovation studies, the knowledge does not perform teleological function nor reach the essence of things, which in scientific cognition is the true, but allows to maintain the state of hegemony for prevailing classes. Paradoxically, innovation studies does not provide much information about innovativeness itself.
For many intellectuals, including the philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis, the historical destiny of Marxism-Leninism has discredited the philosophy of praxis. It can no longer serve as a source for radical political thought. Analyzing the theoretical contributions of the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, we argue that a renewal of Marxism is both possible and needed. After more than forty years of neoliberal capitalism, a revitalized Marxism can contribute to the critique of contemporary forms of economic exploitation and statist domination. We propose that it is the concepts developed by Castoriadis that need to be translated and adapted to this reformed philosophy of praxis.
The paper discusses the socialist/Leftist political humour during Mussolini's ascendance to power (1919-1925). I am especially concerned with the part of political satire that was drawn by the Left mocking the Left itself. This type of political satire has a specificity very challenging and interesting at the same time. It makes evident the limits of the fascist censor and draws the line between political satire and crude political propaganda. I will analyse political cartoons of the aforementioned period and Gramsci's theory of hegemony will shed light both to the reading of this humorous discourse and the left's political practices. The paper is divided into four sub-themes discussing the representation of socialism with the bourgeoisie, the Biennio Rosso, the Socialist fragmentation and the Aventino. The narrative across these major events reveals the counter-hegemonic project of the Left to the fascist ascendance together with their share of responsibility for the latter's power.
The aim of this paper is to examine the emergence of the idea of the creative industries in a particular former socialist country – Estonia. Instead of regarding the creative industries as an economic sector, the article (re)conceptualises it as an ‘empty signifier’. The paper borrows its central theoretical concepts (hegemony, empty signifier, floating signifier) from post-Marxist discourse theory and employs them to explore the ways in which the creative industries are instituted within particular social, discursive or political struggles. The article proposes that Laclauian (or post-Marxist) discourse theory can raise some new fruitful methodological problems and challenging research directions among the researchers of the creative industries and cultural policy, especially in the Eastern European context.
As digital technologies become more prominent in schools, and a host of new media products appear in classrooms, critical questions are being asked about the erasure of power and politics in contemporary education. To explore the discourse on digital education, this paper draws on discourse analysis of ethnographic interviews with for-profit and non-profit organizations in the field. It asks (i) what industry insiders describe as driving change in contemporary educational technology (edtech), and (ii) whether new actors/technologies shaping a novel educational hegemony, and if so, what this hegemony looks like. Initial findings suggest that while the teacher was seen as key to driving change in printed educational materials, three different discourses appear when describing change in today’s educational technology. In the first, learners drive change; the focus lies on the individual dimension. In the second, schools drive change; the systemic dimension. In the third, data drive change; the analytics dimension. Linking these three discourses is a shift from “education” to “learning”. The accounts of educational technology simultaneously advocate for improving opportunities for all students, especially weaker or disadvantaged learners, and also strengthen the hegemonic shift across policy and practice towards an instrumental understanding of education. Overall, the paper suggests that power and politics are by no means erased from the edtech industry’s accounts of digital technologies and datafication. The socio-material affordances engineered into the technologies invite particular teaching practices and thus affect power relations in education.
The article offers an analysis of Wojciech Kuczok’s renowned novel Gnój (Muck) from the perspective of studies on masculinity. It focuses on how hegemonic masculinity (a term popularized by the Australian researcher Raewyn Connell), represented in the novel by the protagonist’s father, functions, and on the forms of expressing a type of masculinity that the father does not accept, namely weakness, lameness and no aptitude for hypermasculinity, depicted in the protagonist. The article also analyses the narration and building the linguistic image of the world presented in the novel, the main manner of expressing masculinity by the father and the way he reinforces his hegemonic status.
Przedmiotem artykułu jest obecny przyrost znaczenia dyskursów antykomunistycznych na przykładzie polskiego antykomunizmu. Cel artykułu jest dwojaki. Po pierwsze, by zweryfikować użyteczności teorii hegemonii dla krytyki antykomunizmu. Twierdzę, że teoria ta pozostaje przydatna jako narzędzie analityczne pozwalające rozpoznać praktyczne zastosowania antykomunizmu w rywalizacji politycznej, ale okazuje się niezdolna do konceptualizacji bardziej systemowych i nieoczywistych przejawów logiki antykomunistycznej w maszynerii współczesnego kapitalizmu. Dlatego proponuję alternatywną propozycję interpretacji zjawiska antykomunizmu – opartą głównie na postoperaistycznym marksizmie dobra wspólnego oraz na lekcjach teoretycznych, jakie wypływają z najnowszych badań nad ludowymi, oddolnymi praktykami społecznymi w Polsce. Po drugie, przedstawia hipotezę, wedle której właściwe zrozumienie partykularnego przykładu polskiego antykomunizmu może okazać się pomocne w rozpoznaniu funkcjonowania uniwersalnego antykomunizmu, rozumianego jako reakcja na walki mające na celu instytucję tego, co wspólne.
EN
The subject of the article is the recent rise in significance of anti-communist discourses on the example of Polish anti-communism. The aim of the article is twofold. Firstly, to test the limits of usefulness of the theory of hegemony in the critique of anti-communism. I claim that it remains operative as an analytic tool to track practical uses of anti-communism in political rivalry, but it is unable to conceptualize more systemic and non-apparent operations of anti-communist logics in the machinery of contemporary capitalism. I propose an alternative interpretation of anti-communism, drawing mostly on post-operaist Marxism of the common and acknowledging its theoretical assumptions with recent research on the Polish popular classes and their bottom-up social practices. Secondly, I present a hypothesis, according to which proper understanding of the particular example of Polish anti-communism could be helpful to understand the functioning of universal anti-communism as a reaction to the struggles to institute the common.
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