Taimur Rahman – Antonio Gramsci: The Imprisoned Philosopher
Antonio Gramsci of Italy was one of the most important and original political and philosophical figures of the 20th century. He was a staunch antifascist and was jailed for years in Mussolini’s prisons. He wrote with great insight about class, culture, and the state. He said that once the state establishes ideological authority, its use of violence can become unnecessary. Gramsci was critical of intellectuals who play a major role in manufacturing consent for the policies of the hegemon, the leader. He developed such key concepts as cultural hegemony, organic intellectuals, and war of position. He warned of “morbid symptoms” afflicting so-called liberal democratic societies. Today, almost a century after his death, Antonio Gramsci continues to inspire and inform progressive activists.
Speaker
Taimur Rahman
Taimur Rahman is one of Pakistan’s leading intellectuals. He is a professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is the author of The Class Structure of Pakistan. He is the Secretary General of the Mazdoor Kisan Party (Workers and Peasants Party). Along with his political and teaching activities, he is the lead guitarist of the Pakistani music band Laal.
Wayne Krefting –
I heard this talk while on the road one Sunday morning. It is breath-taking. Rahman’s understanding and explication of the essential points of Gramsci’s work as it applies to the present moment presents us with a much needed and revolutionary (in the sense that it runs counter to the dominant paradigm of left/right politics, especially in the US) way of building a forceful political movement the is based upon the dignity and the needs of each human in community. The ideas and commentary flow so quickly that multiple listens, or better a written copy of this address is needed to catch, contemplate, and act upon Rahman’s presentation.
David Norris –
I heard this speech while driving to work in Canberra, listening to Alternative Radio, and was genuinely struck by it.
Taimur Rahman’s talk on Antonio Gramsci is clear, engaging and deeply relevant. He makes Gramsci’s ideas feel alive rather than abstract, especially his thinking on cultural hegemony, the role of intellectuals, the manufacture of consent, and the way power can operate through culture and ideology rather than force alone.
What stood out most was how contemporary Gramsci still feels. Rahman explains why a thinker imprisoned under fascism almost a century ago still matters for understanding politics, media, education, class and so-called liberal democracies today. The discussion is intellectually rich but still accessible, which is not easy to achieve with a figure as complex as Gramsci.
A powerful and thought-provoking program. Highly recommended for anyone interested in philosophy, politics, history, culture or progressive thought.
Tim DONNELLY –
What a whirlwind solo word tour by this unique speaker, about one fated deep thinker, soon imprisoned as an Enemy of Mussolini. This fluent, mind-fast speaker will cause listeners (who listen!) to invigorate their intellectual laundry by hanging it up to dry in the good old outside. This is a summation of Gramsci’s sharpest comprehension of the looming storm; its death forces about to break upon the world. One would wish to make one’s ears go faster to catch up with this speaker’s sparkling narrative ability!