The absence of class: Critical development, NGOs and the misuse of Gramsci’s concept of counter-hegemony

This article argues that a number of concepts originally developed by Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) have been misapplied by critical development theorists in their engagement with NGOs. This applies particularly to ‘hegemony’ and ‘counter-hegemony’ because they have been detached from the ontological...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inProgress in development studies Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 275 - 285
Main Author McSweeney, John
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New Delhi, India SAGE Publications 01.07.2014
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Capitalism
Civil society
Class
Community
Conceptualization
Democratization
Development
Development studies
Economic development
Economic models
Economic theory
Emancipation
Gramsci, Antonio (1891-1937)
Hegemony
Neoliberalism
NGOs
Non-governmental organizations
Nongovernmental organizations
Ontology
Philosophy
Poststructuralism
Studies
Working class
critical development theory
hegemony
class
Gramsci
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Summary:This article argues that a number of concepts originally developed by Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) have been misapplied by critical development theorists in their engagement with NGOs. This applies particularly to ‘hegemony’ and ‘counter-hegemony’ because they have been detached from the ontological gravity provided by class. However, Gramsci’s terms, to be analytically comprehendible, should be defined in relation to the agency of class. Yet the treatment of class as an emancipatory agent has been neglected by development studies. This hinders a proper recognition of the real worth of Gramsci’s project of counter-hegemony, particularly in light of the crisis afflicting the present conjuncture.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
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ISSN:1464-9934
1477-027X
DOI:10.1177/1464993414521339