Hegemony rests on consent backed by state coercion held in reserve

Evidence

The “spontaneous” consent given by the great masses of the population to the general direction imposed on social life by the dominant fundamental group; this consent is “historically” caused by the prestige (and consequent confidence) which the dominant group enjoys because of its position and function in the world of production. … The apparatus of state coercive power which “legally” enforces discipline on those groups who do not “consent” either actively or passively. This apparatus is, however, constituted for the whole of society in anticipation of moments of crisis of command and direction when spontaneous consent has failed. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 278

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the two pillars of rule: spontaneous mass consent grounded in the ruling group’s productive prestige, plus legal coercive apparatus that steps in when consent fails.
• ADDENDUM: The prestige-from-production account of consent parallels how the ‘On Sacrifice’ article frames elite legitimation through productive/religious function — ruling groups earn the right to command by securing material order.
• XREF: connects to: Durable domination requires both state force and internalized consent — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 465; The state is an equilibrium of coercion and consent run through civil society — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1869; War governments paired coercion with consent-building to manage labor — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 163