The Concept of the Collective Will in Gramsci

Abstract

This article discusses the central role of will in the construction of a social and political order in the thinking of Antonio Gramsci. It presents the analysis of this Italian thinker both in his pre-prison writings as well as in his Prison Notebooks, revealing the approximations between his concept of “collective will” and Rousseau’s “general will”. It treats the emphasis given by Gramsci to collective will as an “element” of democracy. It concludes by indicating that the concept of “collective will”, developed by Gramsci in The Prison Notebooks is closely linked to that of “intellectual and moral reform”, or that is, to the question hegemony.

Keywords

• volontà collettiva
• volontà generale
• egemonia
• vontade coletiva
• vontade geral
• hegemonia
• collective will
• general will
• hegemony