Cultural Hegemony
(This explanation of hegemony derives from various online definitions, Victor Villanueva’s work on “Intellectuals
and Hegemony” and my own understanding of hegemony)
The analysis of hegemony (or “rule”) was formulated by Antonio Gramsci to explain why Marxist predicted
communist revolutions had not occurred where they were most expected, in industrialized Europe. Marx and his
followers believed the rise of industrial capitalism would create a huge working class and cyclical economic
recessions. These recessions, which are historically true, and other contradictions, such as the value of free
enterprise, free labor, and meritocracy, would lead the overwhelming masses of the workers to develop
organizations for self-defense, including labor unions and political parties that served the needs of the workers
instead of the needs of the ruling elites. Further recessions and contradictions would then spark the working class
to overthrow capitalism in a revolution, restructure the economic, political, and social institutions on rational
socialist models, and begin the transition towards an eventual communist society. This was evident during the
Great Depression of the 1930s, and yet no revolution occurred. Why not?
Gramsci argued the failure of the workers to make anti-capitalist revolution was due to the successful capture of the
workers’ ideology, self-understanding, and organizations by a ruling elites’ involvement in oppressive hegemonic
culture. In other words, the perspective of the ruling class had been absorbed by the masses of workers.
Ideological domination took place with the consent of the overwhelming masses. In “advanced” industrial
societies hegemonic cultural innovations such as compulsory schooling, especially when employing a banking
concept of education, mass media, especially when driven by corporate sponsorship, and popular culture, especially
when delivering the message of instant gratification and hyper-individualism where the individual is more
important than the collective. Instead of working towards a revolution that would truly serve their collective needs
(according to Marxists), workers in “advance’ societies were listening to the rhetoric of nationalist and economic
leaders, seeking consumer opportunities and middle-class status, embracing an individualist definition of success
through competition.
Cultural hegemony is the concept that culture (simply defined as a system of shared beliefs, interactions among
people and institutions, and practices) can be ruled or dominated by one group or class (a ruling elite be them
governmental, economic, social, or spiritual), and the everyday practices and shared beliefs provide the foundation
for complex systems of control and domination: meaning there’s a system of control over common everyday
practices. It its simplest form, hegemony means ideological domination; domination through consent. Meaning
the people of any given society or aspect of society give their consent to a ruling elite’s ideological domination or
control. Key to hegemony is its ability to gain control without the use of force. The Ideological State
Apparatuses are able to maintain their dominance without the need of the Repressive State Apparatuses use of
coercion or force.
The people give their consent because of a few key reasons. First, those with greater access to the construction
and transmission of an ideology have an advantage over those who do not and use this advantage to validate their
beliefs. Second, The ruling elites are seen as legitimate and knowledgeable authorities about the subject they
address. Third, the ideology becomes normal or common sense and presents a particular view of the world the
masses accept as their own. Finally, any opposing view is co-opted, invalidated, marginalized, silenced, and/or
eliminated.
This means hegemony explains the processes, systems, structures, and institutional involvement by which these
shared beliefs and practices are constructed and transmitted to the populations, how they are practiced, and how
they are passed on to others and to future generations. For example, a ruling elite decides on a particular idea and
practice such as the meaning of race or gender. They then transmit their ideas to the population in such a way as
to dominate all other ideas and practices. They create a hierarchal structure where those at the top have control
over those below them, and they use institutions such as the media, family, schools, courtrooms, and churches to
transmit the ideas and regulate the practices. In terms of race, hegemony explains how race is constructed,
defined, valued, and practiced in a society, such as what it means to be and act white or black. In terms of gender,
hegemony explains how masculine and feminine are constructed and practiced.
While hegemony is usually expressed in terms of oppression or domination, it infiltrates every aspect of society
where there exists a ruling body that constructs and transmits ideologies to the population, even if there is no
apparent form of domination. The key seems to be in the definition, structure, and use of power. If power is
defined and practiced for domination and competition, then hegemony attempts to achieve oppression. If power is
defined and practiced for cooperation and tolerance, then hegemony attempts to achieve equality. In either case,
there is a ruling elite that has access to hegemony in ways the subordinate groups and individuals do not, such as
in who has access to the media or has control over spiritual beliefs.
In addition, while one dominant hegemony influences any given society, there are multiple hegemonies at play,
each attempting to gain consent from the targeted populations in order to present their world view as natural or as
common sense. In this way, multiple hegemonies fight to gain dominance and gain the consent of the majority of
the population. How we think about race and gender is informed by different ruling elites of particular
communities presenting their views of race and gender as the valid and normal views on race and gender. We
also tend to gravitate towards those elites most like ourselves and view their belief as the natural or common sense
belief. Therefore, we have different views of what race and gender means depending on which group or
individual we’re listening to. However, the group(s) or individual(s) who have greater access to the transmission
of the beliefs in a given society become the dominant beliefs of a society and the beliefs that all other beliefs are
judged by.
Social control or domination takes place in two ways: external (Repressive State Apparatus) and internal
(Ideological State Apparatus). External control derives from the rewards and consequences we experience based
on a particular behavior or idea. Laws are a form of external control. The population grants the legal system the
power to make and enforce laws. The legal system writes the law, determines the consequences for breaking the
law, enforces the law, and determines what consequences the law breaker experiences be it a fine, probation, or
incarceration. The population adheres to the law because of the consequences that occur for breaking the law.
The system achieves control because we come to understand the rewards and consequences involved in adhering to
or breaking the law.
Internal control derives from the molding of personal beliefs into a replica of the prevailing norms established by
the ruling elite. This internal control begins at birth and continues until the day we die. We think or act a certain
way based on the beliefs introduced to us and rarely question the belief or action because we see either as normal or
as common sense. Internal control is hegemony and uses a common social/moral language in which one concept
of reality is dominant informing with its spirit all modes of thought and behavior. Take fashion for example. In
most cases men’s fashion rarely exposes the male body in the ways female fashion exposes the woman’s body.
Men’s clothing are more concealing, fit looser, and are more comfortable. Women’s fashion often reveals the
female body, especially those parts society has sexualized like women’s breasts. The clothing is often tighter and
clings to the body. Shoes are often uncomfortable, especially high heels. While there are few if any laws, outside
of school for example, stating what is and is not appropriate attire, most people adhere to fashion norms without
question or much complaint.
The kind of cultural hegemony that operates in America is different from the mechanisms used by totalitarian
states to maintain control and signifies the extent o fa particular society’s hegemonic effectiveness.
Totalitarian
societies tend to rely more on violence to control the population, although they usually also have an ideology to
support the status quo, as does the United States. The reason behind this need for violent repression stems from
the ruling elites’ inability to gain consent from the masses. The force needed to gain consent and maintain control
depends on the effectiveness of any given hegemony. The more force that is needed, the less effective the
dominant hegemony is. The United States does occasionally use violence to control dissent, such as during the civil
rights movement and the recent anti-WTO demonstrations known as the “Battle in Seattle.” However, force is not
used against dissidents on nearly the scale it is in totalitarian states, where dissidents are systemically rounded up.
Most dissidents in the United States can criticize the government with low odds of going to jail for it. So long as
dissidents’ ideas are seen as invalid or ridiculous and as long as the overwhelming majority continues to believe in
the dominant ideas and practices, dissidents do not represent much of a threat to the status quo. Allowing most
dissidents to exist, but marginalizing their views, actually strengthens hegemony because it makes the system seem
freer and more open. We believe in freedom of speech yet rarely question the value of any speech not sanctioned
by the elites as seen in the recent controversy over the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. In a totalitarian system the
spectrum is narrower and all dissent is suppressed or eliminated, while the hegemony that exists in the United
States just marginalizes and invlidates dissent instead of suppressing it and acts to insure that most people continue
to believe in the ideology of free speech and a democratic society. In order for this to happen hegemony must get
us to pay attention only to the most obvious forms of control such as totalitarianism so we don’t pay attention to ths
subtle forms of control involved in the myth of free speech and democratic society.
Although the analysis of cultural domination was first advanced in terms of economic classes, it can be applied
more broadly. Hegemony now helps explain all forms of ideological domination, such as race, gender, and
sexuality ideologies. Gramsci’s analysis suggested that prevailing cultural norms should not be viewed as
“natural” or “inevitable”. Rather, cultural norms–including institutions, practices, and beliefs– should be
investigated for their roots in domination and their implications for liberation. When investigating the cultural
norm established by the ruling elite, an individual can find what are called hegemonic cracks. These are the
instances when the lived experiences of a certain person or collective fail to match the ideology. For example,
throughout American’s history, European white supremacy has been at work in multiple ways. Most people of
color came to realize that they were as good or as smart or as capable as any white person. They realized that
white supremacy ideology didn’t match their lived experiences or understanding of the world. They saw the
cracks in this ideology and began a process of resistance to this ideology.
These acts of resistance for the sake of liberation have been identified as counter-hegemonic moves.
Counter-hegemonic moves are those acts and beliefs that attempt to, first, question the dominant ideology, and,
next, develop ways to subvert the acts or dominant ideology. The civil rights movement of the sixties and
seventies are an example of counter hegemonic moves. Racial discrimination based on white supremacy ideology
was the prevailing norm for most of America’s history. While discrimination was never accepted by those being
discriminated against and usually opposed by a local community or an individual, the civil rights movement was
the mobilization of a large mass of peoples opposing racial discrimination. It is this mobilization that is most
commonly associated with counter-hegemonic moves.
Gramsci, therefore, argued for a strategic distinction between a “war of position” and a “war of maneuver”. The
war of position is a culture war in which anti-capitalist elements seek to gain a dominant voice in mass media,
mass organizations, and educational institutions to heighten class consciousness, teach revolutionary analysis and
theory, and inspire revolutionary organization. This is an attempt, in the words of Bob Marley, to “emancipate
yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.” It is an ideological war. It seeks to
displace oppressive ideologies with harmonious ideologies. It works towards the idea that no social revolution
takes place without a preceding social conscious revolution occurring.
Following a successful war of position,
communist leaders would be empowered to begin the war of maneuver, the actual insurrection against domination,
with mass support. The ruling elites are stripped of their power and the masses assume the democratic role of
equitable rule. The institutions are dismantled and rebuilt anew towards the common good. Power is defused of
its ability to achieve obscene accumulation and developed along the lines of equalitarian coexistence.
An important aspect that works to prevent either the war of position or the war of movement involves the ways in
which the ruling elite shift their ideologies to get people to believe society has changed but in reality nothing
fundamental changes, especially the access to the power to control ideologies and societies. Hegemony evolves to
maintain its control over the population. These are called hegemonic shifts. These shifts work in a circular
fashion. An ideology is constructed by a ruling elite and transmitted to the population through hegemony.
Members of the general population realize the ideology doesn’t explain their lived experiences or their world view
and begin to complain about or question the validity of the ideology. The ruling elite recognizes their ideology is
no longer seen as natural or as common sense and shifts the ideology just enough to present a different world view,
while, in fact, the fundamental aspect of control doesn’t change. The masses now believe change has occurred
until another individual or collective challenges the newest prevailing ideology. Take, for example, the movie
“Remember the Titans” starring Denzel Washington. The movie, based on real events, presents a movement
towards racial understanding, acceptance, and equality by members of a high school football team and later by the
white community. This message is delivered by the young daughter of one of the football coaches in the final
scene of the movie. In fact, the movie maintains a sense of white supremacy in regards to the master/servant
relationship stemming from slavery, where the black slaves served the interests on the white slave master. As the
movie progresses, the town’s white population, we have only one scene of the town’s black population, begins to
support the team as each victory accumulates and leads to a state championship. The black athletes are accepted
when and only when they serve the needs of the white townsfolk by producing a winning football team. In this
way, the movie delivers a message of racial acceptance, understanding, and equality yet only when the needs of the
white townsfolk are met. A hegemonic shift occurred getting us to believe race relationships changed for the
better, but in reality white supremacy maintains its dominance because the master/servant relationship goes
unchallenged.
One final note concerning hegemony concerns the contradictions involved in our beliefs systems as we attempt
fundamental change within ourselves. Because hegemony promotes ideologies as normal or common sense, we
often find it difficult to determine the extent ideology influences us. His idea explains how we believe we have
moved past any involvements in oppressive ideologies, we often contradict this belief by participating in the very
oppression we believe we have moved beyond. In other words, we often talk the talk but fail to walk the walk.
Key to this is how we fail to recognize our contradictions because we have so deeply internalized the ideology we
don’t realize when our actions betray our beliefs.
We often don’t realize the influence because of the subtleties
that go unnoticed and unchallenged. We become accustomed to dealing with the most obvious forms of influence
or become accustomed to dealing with the influence in an either/or dynamic, meaning it is one way or the other, to
the point that we failed to explore all the various ways ideology determines how we see the world and how we
interact with the world. An example of this can be seen in the ways we perceive race. We often find ourselves
accepting racial difference until a crisis or confrontational issue arises. In this moment, we revert back to certain
prevailing racial practices. One way this occurs is when a white person brings home a recognizable person of
color to meet the family. During this meeting, most people remain courteous and when the person of color is
gone, some family members will begin to question the relationship not because they think the person is wrong for
the family member in question but because they need to maintain racial purity. They don’t realize this is what
they’re doing; they believe they don’t adhere to the ideology of racial purity largely because they never had to
confront race in such a profoundly personal way before. Because they’ve internalized the ideology of racial purity,
they attempt to convince the family member in question to break off the relationship for any reason except for race.
There is one reason usually given that does address race and that’s how many will talk about the problems the
couple would race as an interracial couple or the problems the children of the couple would deal with because of
being bi-racial. They act concern over the well-being of the family member in question, and this concern conceals
their internalized racist beliefs. In essence they talk the talk but fail to walk the walk when they must confront
race.
This brief explanation of some key elements of hegemony help provide an understanding of how we come to know
what we know, how we come to believe in what we believe, and how we act in certain ways. Gramsci didn’t
believe people are sheep being led by a ruling elite and have no agency in determining their belief system. He did
discover a system of domination that takes place in any given society in multiple and competing ways. Gramsci
presents a way for us to understand how some ideologies are given legitimacy over others. He doesn’t say all
ideologies are oppressive but provides a way to examine all ideologies in order to determine the extent of their
oppression. Hegemony is relentless in its desire to maintain control. It works 24/7 to achieve its goals and
incorporates each new generation into its system of domination, usually without the new generation’s awareness of
hegemony’s control.
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