Università Roma Tre

Domination or hegemony between economics and politics
In a famous passage from the Prison Notebooks, Antonio Gramsci clarifies that the «supremacy of a social group» can manifest itself in two ways: «as ‘domination’ and as ‘intellectual and moral direction’». The second way coincides with the notion of ‘hegemony’, which has become topical again in recent decades thanks to cultural and postcolonial studies. Giovanni Arrighi and Beverly Silver, using Gramsci to understand the crisis of the global order that had established itself in the aftermath of the Second World War, call that of the United States after 1989 a «domination without hegemony». But while the category of hegemony has once again conquered the scene, there are fewer questions about that of domination. Through the fundamental work of Max Weber and Joseph Schumpeter, the Course will explore precisely the concept of domination (Herrschaft), with particular focus on the latter's ability to intertwine the economic and political spheres. The focus on domination will thus be an opportunity to return to the problem of hegemony, in Gramsci and in contemporary political debate.

Weber M., Economia e società, IV Volume (ed. Donzelli), Dominio (pp. 3-32) e I tre tipi puri di dominio legittimo (pp. 541-564).
Schumpeter J., Teoria dello sviluppo economico (ed. Sansoni), II capitolo e Parte I e II (senza Appendice) del III capitolo (scaricabili su Moodle).
Gramsci A., Quaderni del carcere (ed. Einaudi), passi scelti del Quaderno 13 e del Quaderno 22.
Arrighi G., Silver B., Caos e governo del mondo (ed. Mimesis), Introduzione (pp. 25-67).