Prison Notebooks Volume 3

About this book

Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) is widely celebrated as the most original political thinker in Western Marxism and an all-around outstanding intellectual figure. Arrested and imprisoned by the Italian Fascist regime in 1926 Gramsci died before fully regaining his freedom. Nevertheless in his prison notebooks he recorded thousands of brilliant reflections on an extraordinary range of subjects establishing an enduring intellectual legacy. Columbia University Presss multivolume Prison Notebooks is a complete critical edition of Antonio Gramscis seminal writings in English. The notebooks integral text gives readers direct access not only to Gramscis influential ideas but also to the intellectual workshop where those ideas were forged. Extensive notes guide readers through Gramscis extraordinary series of reflections on an encyclopedic range of topics. Volume 3 contains notebooks 6 7 and 8 in which Gramsci develops his concepts of hegemony civil society and the state; reflects extensively on the Renaissance the Reformation and Machiavellis political philosophy; and offers a trenchant critique of the cultural and political practices of fascism. A detailed analysis of positivism and idealism brings Gramscis philosophy of praxis and conception of historical materialism into sharp relief. Also included are the authors extensive observations on articles and books read during his imprisonment.