Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, political theorist, journalist, and a founding member of the Italian Communist Party. He is considered one of the most important political thinkers of the twentieth century.
Early Life:
Gramsci was born in Sardinia, Italy, into a poor family. He won a scholarship to study at the University of Turin, where he became involved in socialist politics and workers’ movements. Turin was a major industrial center, and the experience of factory strikes and labor struggles strongly shaped his political ideas.
Political Activity:
In 1921, Gramsci helped found the Italian Communist Party. He later became one of its leaders and briefly served as a member of parliament. However, when Benito Mussolini consolidated fascist power, Gramsci was arrested in 1926. The prosecutor reportedly declared, “We must stop this brain from functioning.”
Prison Notebooks:
During his imprisonment (1926–1937), Gramsci wrote his famous Prison Notebooks. In these writings, he developed influential ideas about:
Hegemony – the idea that ruling classes maintain power not only through force, but through cultural influence, education, religion, media, and intellectual life.
Civil society – the importance of institutions outside the state in shaping political consent.
Organic intellectuals – thinkers who emerge from and represent particular social classes.
Because of prison censorship, he often wrote in coded or indirect language, which makes his work complex but intellectually rich.
His Core Idea:
Gramsci argued that power is not maintained only through force, but through culture, ideas, education, media, and institutions. According to him, the ruling class preserves dominance not merely through repression, but by shaping culture and common sense. This theory of cultural power—often compared to “soft power”—has been highly influential in political theory and cultural studies.
The Misattributed Quote:
The famous quote, “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters,”
is widely attributed to Gramsci. However, it is a poetic misattribution. While it captures modern anxiety, it oversimplifies and distorts his more complex theory of political and cultural power.
In reality, Gramsci described a period of political transition with the following Italian sentence: “In questo interregno si verificano i fenomeni morbosi più svariati.”
This translates as: “In this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.”
The key difference is clear:
He spoke of “morbid symptoms.”
He did not mention “monsters.”
The word interregnum refers to a gap between two political orders—when the old system is collapsing but the new one has not yet fully formed.
Contemporary Relevance
Today, many people use the “time of monsters” quote to describe the political climate during the era of Donald Trump. Trump’s right-wing nationalist “America First” sentiment has influenced political movements beyond the United States. In France, the National Rally (Rassemblement National) has gained significant electoral support. In Sweden, the Sweden Democrats have become a major political force. In Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has expanded its influence, particularly in eastern regions. In Italy, the Brothers of Italy has risen to national leadership.
Similar right-wing or nationalist parties have gained prominence in other European countries, such as Law and Justice (Poland), Fidesz (Hungary), and Vox (Spain).
Many observers argue that a broader political and cultural struggle, as a silent revolution is underway across Europe and the United States in response to these movements.
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