Combating economism requires developing the concept of hegemony

Evidence

It is thus forgotten that since “economism” too is, or is presumed to be, an objective principle of interpretation (objective-scientific), the search for direct self-interest should apply to all aspects of history, to those who represent the “thesis” as well as to those who represent the “antithesis”. Furthermore, another proposition of the philosophy of praxis is also forgotten: that “popular beliefs” and similar ideas are themselves material forces. The search for “dirty-Jewish” interests has sometimes led to monstrous and comical errors of interpretation, which have consequently reacted negatively on the prestige of the original body of ideas. It is therefore necessary to combat economism not only in the theory of historiography, but also and especially in the theory and practice of politics. In this field, the struggle can and must be carried on by developing the concept of hegemony-as has been done in practice in the development of the theory of the political party, 218 and in the actual history of certain political parties (the struggle against the theory of the so-called Permanent Revolution-to which was counterposed the concept of revolutionary-democratic dictatorship; 219 the extent o f the support given to constituentist ideologies, 220 etc.) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 714

Categorization

• DEFINE: Positions ‘hegemony’ as the antidote to economistic reduction — an essential framing for the concept’s later use in Islamophobia criticism.