Organic intellectuals form metonymic collectivities across class rather than shared identity

Evidence

In conclusion to this long note, it must be said that the organic intellectual is not a concept of identity but rather of a focus on that part of the subject which takes on the intellectual’s function. Mahasweta Devi, Jaladhar Sabar, Gopiballabh Singh Deo (caste-Hindu head of the local landowning family, conscientized and politicized through left struggle, now thoroughly identified with the tribal movement and an indefatigable worker on its behalf), and Prasanta Rakshit (a young man of provincial petty-bourgeois origin who lives and works with the Sobor Kherias) form, therefore, a metonymic collectivity. — Donna Landry and Gerald MacLean, The Spivak Reader, 2236

Categorization

• DEFINE: Redefines the organic intellectual as a function-taking focus, not identity — a reformulation that loosens identity-based essentialism.
• XREF: Bears on whether strategic/collective identity action can be sustained when the actors are not identical in their social position. — connects to: Intellectuals are class-bound, not an autonomous social category — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 433; Organic working-class intellectuals link production roles to political direction — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 248; Mobility into intellectual roles severs a person’s organic link to their class of origin (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Intellectuals are class-bound, not an autonomous social category #qualifies (0.85) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 433
• Organic working-class intellectuals link production roles to political direction #expands (0.80) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 248
• Intellectuals are never class-neutral but split into traditional and organic types #expands (0.80)
• Organic intellectuals must arise from and stay in contact with the masses #corroborates (0.80) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1224
• Mobility into intellectual roles severs a person’s organic link to their class of origin #contradicts (0.75)
• People label themselves ideologically via differing symbolic attachments, not a shared spectrum #expands (0.70)