ABSTRACT
The category of 'hegemony' – mainly developed within the field of Marxist and postMarxist theorisation – is closely associated with the notion of 'universal CLASS', as originally presented by Hegel and substantially transformed by Marx. Hegemony becomes the ultimate horizon of constitution of social relations which, being grounded in antagonisms and exclusions, have a necessary political dimension. The re-emergence of the political instance in socialist reflection is the general background explaining Gramsci's intervention, which will be the crucial moment in the constitution of a political analysis centred in the category of 'hegemony'. It is in the blurring of the line separating civil society from the state, and in the unification of both spheres in what Gramsci calls a 'historical bloc', where the specificity of his view of hegemony lies. For Gramsci, the moment of seizure of power becomes entirely subordinated to the process of becoming a state of a hegemonic class.
