Subalternity and Beyond

This essay argues that the concept of the subaltern, developed by Gramsci in prison, is a fundamental piece of a specific and original Marxist conception of the process of constitution of the political subject. In particular, the place and role occupied by the concept of subalternity in Gramsci’s thought can only be fully appreciated if it is placed in close relation to the concepts of autonomy and hegemony. Stated simply and at the same time controversially regarding certain interpretations that can be defined as subalternist, Gramsci is not a theoretician of subalternity; on the contrary, he is a theoretician of the exit from subalternity, of the historical construction of a postsubaltern social and political subject, an autonomous subject who is therefore enabled and capable of disputing hegemony.