International Political Economy (IPE) is a topic of study that explores the confluence between politics and economics in a global environment. It aims to comprehend the complexity of the global economy and how the activities of numerous players, including nations, multinational firms, international organizations, and people, impact it. Through the prism of Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci’s notion of cultural hegemony, one may better comprehend the power dynamics of IPE. Gramsci contends that the ruling class maintains its control over society through force and the creation and dissemination of an ideology that serves and legitimizes its interests.
International political economics (IPE) may be philosophically comprehended via the lens of Antonio Gramsci’s idea of cultural hegemony. Gramsci contends that coercion and consent are the two mechanisms by which the ruling class maintains its grasp on society (Balaam & Dillman, 2019, p. 79-80). Contrary to coercion, which employs economic and political power directly to dominate the subordinate class, consent involves the creation and dissemination of an ideology that serves and legitimizes the dominant class’s objectives. Schools, churches, courts, and the media are all instruments of the ruling class’s ideological effort to socialize the masses into adhering to the group’s beliefs and ideas so that it can assert authority over the rest of society (Balaam & Dillman, 2019, p. 79). This approach to IPE demonstrates a rather negative perception of the reality by Gramsci.
Cultural hegemony is an essential concept in IPE because it sheds insight into why Marx’s anticipated worker-led revolution never occurred. The ruling class utilizes propaganda to keep the working class persuaded that capitalism is legitimate and useful, keeping them blind or insensitive to the reality that they are being exploited (Nicki Lisa Cole, 2020). To execute this deception, the dominant class depicts the ruling class’s ideology and the social and economic institutions that embody it as proper, legitimate, and formed for the benefit of everyone (Nicki Lisa Cole, 2020). This cultural domination allows the governing class to exercise influence using the peaceful tactics of ideology and culture, setting it distinct from control by force, as in a military dictatorship.
Gramsci recommended the formation of organic intellectuals among the working class as a countermeasure against cultural hegemony. These people would preserve their class loyalty even as they supplied workers with leadership, organization, and a language capable of challenging the ruling class’s ideology and outlining an alternative future (Nicki Lisa Cole, 2020). In addition, the effective recruitment of eminent academics is vital to the formation of a counterhegemonic worldview (Balaam & Dillman, 2019, p. 79). Then, conversations and appeals for change could be heard everywhere, including in schools, newspapers, music, and cafés.
In conclusion, Antonio Gramsci’s idea of cultural hegemony offers a significant framework for comprehending the power dynamics in the international political economy. It demonstrates how the ruling class maintains its hold on society not just via force but also by constructing and promoting an ideology that promotes and legitimizes its interests. This ideology is spread via a variety of institutions, including schools, churches, courts, and the media, which socialize the people to conform to the ideas and values of the ruling elite. Gramsci also believed that the creation of organic intellectuals from the working class, in conjunction with the recruitment of existing academics, might help challenge this cultural hegemony and pave the way for a more egalitarian future. Understanding cultural hegemony is thus vital to attaining a more nuanced and critical perspective on the world we inhabit and the power dynamics that define it.
References
Balaam, D. N., & Dillman, B. L. (2019). Introduction to international political economy. Routledge.
Nicki Lisa Cole, P. D. (2020). How the ruling class maintains power using ideas and norms. ThoughtCo. Web.