Hegemony succeeds when subordinate groups accept the dominant vision as their own

Evidence

Recent sociological theories of ideology have made use of Gramsci’s concept of ideological hegemony (Gitlin, 1980; Gramsci, 1971; Williams, 1973). Ideological hegemony is said to exist when the ideas of one group dominate or exert a predominant influence on the major cultural and social institutions (Fermia, 1975, p. 29; Williams, 1960, p. 587). These ideas explain social reality—in particular, inequalities between social groups—in a manner that defends and justifies such inequalities. A dominant group is truly hegemonic when people of all stations in life, dominant and subordinate, accept the vision of society as espoused by the dominant group. In this respect, Gramsci’s notion of hegemony corresponds to Marx’s dictum (1964) that “the ideas of the ruling class are, in every age, the ruling ideas” (p. 78). Gramsci, however, added an element of exchange and indeterminancy that elevates the role played by human subjectivity. For Gramsci, the economic base of society creates rough boundaries on ideas but does not predetermine or directly create ideological belief systems (the “superstructure”). — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3380

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precise definition of ideological hegemony and its Gramscian indeterminacy—useful grounding for how identity-justifying ideologies circulate.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s research on strategic essentialism and Foucault’s counter-history: this contrast between Marx’s ruling ideas and Gramsci’s subjectivity-shaped hegemony parallels Spivak’s own Gramsci-adjacent coining of strategic essentialism. — connects to: Ideological hegemony substitutes for physical coercion in stable hierarchies — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 3223; Subordinate groups share the dominant status ranking of their own subordination — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 3252; Subordinate groups can challenge hegemony by invoking the dominant group’s own professed values (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Dominant groups become hegemonic when subordinates accept their vision as legitimate. #corroborates (0.92) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3380
• Ideological hegemony operates when subordinates internalize the dominant group’s justifications of inequality #expands (0.88)
• Subordinate groups can challenge hegemony by invoking the dominant group’s own professed values #expands (0.85)
• Subordinate groups often internalize dominant-group evaluations and derogate their own group #expands (0.80) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2691
• Hegemony is rule achieved through consent rather than coercion #expands (0.78) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 626
• Hegemony is not the same thing as ideological domination #complicates (0.75) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 755
• Hegemony is reproduced through unstable, shifting equilibria rather than static dominance #complicates (0.72)