Political activity is the first, most elementary level of the superstructure

Evidence

In a philosophy of praxis, the distinction will certainly not be between the moments of the absolute Spirit, but between the levels of the superstructure. The problem will therefore be that of establishing the dialectical position of political activity (and of the corresponding science) as a particular level of the superstructure. One might say, as a first schematic approximation, that political activity is precisely the first moment or first level; the moment in which the superstructure is still in the unmediated phase of mere wishful affirmation, confused and still at an elementary stage. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 625

Croce based himself on his distinction of the moments of the spirit, and on his affirmation of a moment of practice, of a practical spirit, autonomous and independent though linked in a circle to all reality by the dialectic of distincts. In a philosophy of praxis, the distinction will certainly not be between the moments of the absolute Spirit, but between the levels of the superstructure. The problem will therefore be that of establishing the dialectical position of political activity (and of the corresponding science) as a particular level of the superstructure. One might say, as a first schematic approximation, that political activity is precisely the first moment or first level; the moment in which the superstructure is still in the unmediated phase of mere wishful affirmation, confused and still at an elementary stage. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 625

Categorization

• DEFINE: Gramsci’s schema positioning political activity as the ‘first moment’ of the superstructure, before it becomes concrete.
• XREF: Connects to the Marxist base/superstructure model and to Gramsci’s later ‘historical bloc’ formulation; useful foundation for how ideology and politics interlock in Islamophobia discourse. — connects to: Political, legal, cultural, and ideological levels hold relative autonomy within a social formation.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 625

Broader Connections

• Political, legal, cultural, and ideological levels hold relative autonomy within a social formation. #expands (0.82)