Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago
Historian & journalist Vijay Prashad talks with Steve about why Antonio Gramsci still matters.
Listeners to this podcast know that we have a pretty good grasp of the monetary system. But we’re constantly working to expand our understanding of the systemic underpinnings of real power. How else will we be able to seize it? For help, we turn to Gramsci.
According to Vijay, Gramsci was doing class forensics. His core puzzle was brutal & practical: why did big chunks of Italy’s working-class bail on their own unions and parties and drift into fascism? That’s the real origin story of “cultural hegemony,” “common sense,” & the whole Gramscian toolbox: figuring out how consent gets manufactured & how counterrevolution recruits.
Vijay takes us through Gramsci’s political development & his imprisonment under Mussolini, where he wrote his seminal Prison Notebooks.
Then they get into Gramsci’s key concepts: hegemony (borrowed from Lenin &, per Vijay, more than a “culture theory”), the necessity of a Leninist-type party as the modern Prince, & the need to build alliances to create working-class leadership over society.
After taking a hard look at the left in the US, Steve & Vijay discuss the limits of electoral politics & the missing infrastructure for a serious battle of ideas. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about class power, organizing, and what it actually takes to change how people understand the world they’re living in.
Vijay Prashad is the Executive Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research. He is a historian, journalist, and author of forty books, including Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassination; Red Star over the Third World; and The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World.
Chapters w/ Timestamps
Introduction & Gramsci’s Relevance
0:00 – 3:03
Steve introduces the episode, discusses the focus on Gramsci, & introduces guest Vijay Prashad.
Who Was Antonio Gramsci?
4:54 – 17:44
Vijay Prashad gives a biographical overview of Gramsci, his background, & his early political involvement.
Gramsci’s Imprisonment & The Prison Notebooks
18:19 – 29:41
Discussion of Gramsci’s arrest, his writings in prison, & the significance of The Prison Notebooks.
Cultural Hegemony & Class Betrayal
29:41 – 44:24
Exploration of Gramsci’s key questions: why the working class abandoned the Left, & the development of cultural hegemony.
Revolution & Counterrevolution: Italy, Russia, & Beyond
44:24 – 1:04:24
Comparison between the Russian and Italian revolutions, Lenin’s influence, & the concept of counterrevolution.
Modern Examples of Revolution and Counterrevolution
1:04:24 – 1:21:01
Application of Gramsci’s ideas to modern movements like Occupy Wall Street, Bernie Sanders, & Black Lives Matter.
Key Components of Gramsci’s Teachings for Today
1:21:01 – 1:38:21
Vijay outlines three main points: the necessity of a disciplined party, the importance of alliances, & the war of position.
War of Position vs. War of Maneuver
1:38:21 – 1:59:41
Deep dive into Gramsci’s concepts of war of position & war of maneuver, & their relevance to contemporary politics.
Contradictory Consciousness & Political Education
1:59:41 – 2:21:01
Discussion on how workers develop contradictory consciousness & the role of organizers in clarifying class understanding.
Organic, Traditional, & New Intellectuals
2:21:01 – 2:33:56
Explanation of Gramsci’s theory of intellectuals and their roles in society & class struggle.
Socialism in One Country? Gramsci’s Perspective
2:33:56 – 2:49:36
Addressing debates on socialism in one country vs. internationalism, & what Gramsci might have thought.
Final Thoughts & Call to Action
2:49:36 – End (~2:50:00)
Vijay’s closing remarks, invitation to support Tricontinental, & Steve’s outro.
Weaponize Knowledge w/ Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
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We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Historian & journalist Vijay Prashad talks with Steve about why Antonio Gramsci still matters.
Listeners to this podcast know that we have a pretty good grasp of the monetary system. But we’re constantly working to expand our understanding of the systemic underpinnings of real power. How else will we be able to seize it? For help, we turn to Gramsci.
According to Vijay, Gramsci was doing class forensics. His core puzzle was brutal & practical: why did big chunks of Italy’s working-class bail on their own unions and parties and drift into fascism? That’s the real origin story of “cultural hegemony,” “common sense,” & the whole Gramscian toolbox: figuring out how consent gets manufactured & how counterrevolution recruits.
Vijay takes us through Gramsci’s political development & his imprisonment under Mussolini, where he wrote his seminal Prison Notebooks.
Then they get into Gramsci’s key concepts: hegemony (borrowed from Lenin &, per Vijay, more than a “culture theory”), the necessity of a Leninist-type party as the modern Prince, & the need to build alliances to create working-class leadership over society.
After taking a hard look at the left in the US, Steve & Vijay discuss the limits of electoral politics & the missing infrastructure for a serious battle of ideas. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about class power, organizing, and what it actually takes to change how people understand the world they’re living in.
Vijay Prashad is the Executive Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research. He is a historian, journalist, and author of forty books, including Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassination; Red Star over the Third World; and The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World.
Chapters w/ Timestamps
Introduction & Gramsci’s Relevance
0:00 – 3:03
Steve introduces the episode, discusses the focus on Gramsci, & introduces guest Vijay Prashad.
Who Was Antonio Gramsci?
4:54 – 17:44
Vijay Prashad gives a biographical overview of Gramsci, his background, & his early political involvement.
Gramsci’s Imprisonment & The Prison Notebooks
18:19 – 29:41
Discussion of Gramsci’s arrest, his writings in prison, & the significance of The Prison Notebooks.
Cultural Hegemony & Class Betrayal
29:41 – 44:24
Exploration of Gramsci’s key questions: why the working class abandoned the Left, & the development of cultural hegemony.
Revolution & Counterrevolution: Italy, Russia, & Beyond
44:24 – 1:04:24
Comparison between the Russian and Italian revolutions, Lenin’s influence, & the concept of counterrevolution.
Modern Examples of Revolution and Counterrevolution
1:04:24 – 1:21:01
Application of Gramsci’s ideas to modern movements like Occupy Wall Street, Bernie Sanders, & Black Lives Matter.
Key Components of Gramsci’s Teachings for Today
1:21:01 – 1:38:21
Vijay outlines three main points: the necessity of a disciplined party, the importance of alliances, & the war of position.
War of Position vs. War of Maneuver
1:38:21 – 1:59:41
Deep dive into Gramsci’s concepts of war of position & war of maneuver, & their relevance to contemporary politics.
Contradictory Consciousness & Political Education
1:59:41 – 2:21:01
Discussion on how workers develop contradictory consciousness & the role of organizers in clarifying class understanding.
Organic, Traditional, & New Intellectuals
2:21:01 – 2:33:56
Explanation of Gramsci’s theory of intellectuals and their roles in society & class struggle.
Socialism in One Country? Gramsci’s Perspective
2:33:56 – 2:49:36
Addressing debates on socialism in one country vs. internationalism, & what Gramsci might have thought.
Final Thoughts & Call to Action
2:49:36 – End (~2:50:00)
Vijay’s closing remarks, invitation to support Tricontinental, & Steve’s outro.
Weaponize Knowledge w/ Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading & become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Donorbox
donorbox.org/each-one-teach-one-3
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
Subscribe to our Substack:
realprogressives.substack.com
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
