On Gramsci’s ‘conceptions of the world’

Abstract

Antonio Gramsci is widely celebrated for his conceptualisation of hegemony. This paper elucidates a related concept that appears frequently in Gramsci’s prison notebooks yet has been surprisingly under-emphasised: ‘conceptions of the world’. By conceptions of the world, Gramsci refers to things that inform our understanding of the world and our place in it. Each conception of the world is inherently practical and philosophical, relational and political. Gramsci argues that producing a new, effective conception of the world is the key to successfully building communism. It is therefore important to situate this concept in Gramsci’s thought. That is the aim of this paper, which elaborates on the implications of ‘conception of the world’ through a reading of Gramsci’s prison notes – particularly his commentaries on humanity and worldliness.