The concept of the ‘organic intellectual’ was introduced by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci in Prison Notebooks, a series of essays written during his imprisonment by the Italian fascist regime in 1926. The concept is one of the most important components in understanding Gramsci’s “philosophy of praxis”. For Gramsci, revolutionary practice, that which can successfully challenge the foundations of capitalist society, was possible only through a sociological understanding of the complex nature of the relationship between class power, ideology, organic intellectuals, hegemony and the state in capitalist society. Intellectuals are an important component in the functioning of capitalist society as well as for a revolution due to their capacity to influence people. While the general understanding was that intellectuals were scholars who engaged with philosophies and mingled only with the cream of society, Gramsci discussed their role in educating the masses. Organic intellectuals are those specific intellectuals who could help build awareness among the masses, as they are intellectuals who rose to the professional standing from a social class that typically does not produce intellectuals and yet remained associated with that class, unlike traditional intellectuals.
Hegemony as a mode of power
In his observation of modern states, Gramsci recognised that after the mid-nineteenth century, the state did not rule and control the public through coercion and force. Instead, it had cultivated consensual support throughout civil society, which he described as hegemony. Hegemony as a concept was inspired by Italian political thinkers who employed the term to describe the gradual building of consensus and favour across the nation for the ruling class instead of relying exclusively on the exercise of coercion. Hegemony was the consensual domination of the masses by a social class which successfully expanded its influence and leadership across civil society. Army, law, police and other forms of control and threat were only employed during a crisis of command when spontaneous consent from the masses failed. By trying to keep this consent intact, the state could no longer be separated from civil society. The state became a combination of political and civil society and functioned as an ethical educator that moulded a specific way of life for its citizens. Therefore, the backing of educational and religious institutions, media persons, and groups that influenced civil society became essential to maintain power. Moreover, the state also needed to win over potentially hostile or volatile groups and appease the dominant classes. It is here that intellectuals play a major role. According to Gramsci, in a state’s struggle for hegemony, intellectuals had an important role due to their capacity to influence civil society and gain the consent of the masses. They are used as tools of the state to maintain their hegemonic power.
The function of intellectuals
Moving beyond the conventional idea of intellectuals that only included specialists who worked explicitly with ideas, Gramsci included all those whose social function was to communicate and educate the non-specialists. They were not limited to artists, scholars, and academics who preserved and organised culture in society but also included functionaries like bureaucrats, administrators, managers, and politicians.
He further divided them into two categories according to their association with class. Traditional intellectuals such as clergymen or philosophers represented a former historical stage and though they retained social prestige due to their position as organisers of culture, they were not directly linked to the economic structure of the society and did not affiliate with a particular class or a political discourse.
Organic intellectuals, on the other hand, were intellectuals who had a direct connection to the economic structure of their society and their own class. They remained connected to their class and worked towards raising awareness of their class’s social and political roles, aiming to foster unity by spreading awareness among the masses. Their interests were more closely aligned with that of the dominant classes they identified with, as opposed to traditional intellectuals.
Ideology and the organic intellectual
Gramsci recognised the importance of both the economic structure (base) that included social class and class power and the cultural and ideological aspects (superstructure) such as religion, folklore, languages and social norms in bringing about a revolution. He was critical of what he referred to as vulgar materialism that reduced everything to an economic determinism as it failed to grasp the dialectical nature of Marxism.
According to him, ideology is a world view that played a crucial role in unifying human actions. It helped people in becoming aware of their practical circumstances. He believed that intellectuals, particularly organic intellectuals, should not detach themselves from the masses, but rather engage with their common sense thinking and ideologies. They needed to challenge contradictory ideologies, educate the public about their class struggles, and develop and disseminate the ideology of their own class.
Further, they had to establish dominance over the intellectuals of other classes and assimilate and gain the support of traditional intellectuals, because, despite their disconnect from their class, they could get spontaneous consent to the social order as representatives of a society’s culture. Assimilating traditional intellectuals is an important aspect of the overall struggle for hegemony.
Gramsci explained that while organic intellectuals were used by the state and the classes in power to maintain their positions, they were also important for a revolutionary project. The revolution could only be possible if consent was gained from the masses across civil society before capturing power from the ruling classes.
Seizing buildings and jailing the ruling corrupt was not enough for the sustenance of revolution as along with a change in the economic structure, a political transformation was imperative for a true revolution, without which it had the danger of being similar to fascism.
Intellectuals, by understanding the ideologies of the people, especially the working class, could educate them about their social class and empower them to transcend their roles as workers who were dominated by the ruling class to become politically conscious agents driving the revolution forward.
