Jeong Gwang-je’s new book, ‘A Liberal’s Reading of Gramsci,’ has been published. The author states that Antonio Gramsci should not be viewed simply as a left-wing theorist.

While Gramsci was a founder of the Italian Communist Party and a labor activist, his most important legacy was an ‘analytical framework’ that explained how society functions.

The author emphasizes that Gramsci did not advocate for a specific ideology but rather analyzed how everyday elements such as schools, language, customs, common sense, work ethics, and cultural tastes shape people's thinking.

Gramsci believed that consent operates before coercion, and that culture has more lasting power than politics. It is from this point that the concept of hegemony was born. It was an explanation of the structures through which social consensus is formed.

Ultimately, the left, which first understood this explanatory tool, systematically utilized it over a long period. Concepts were created in universities and research institutes, standardized through textbooks and teacher training, and disseminated throughout society via publishing and media. In essence, cultural accumulation occurred.

In contrast, the author analyzes that the liberal right wing merely explained the left's influence as moral hypocrisy or emotional manipulation, failing to analyze the underlying structures. When pushed back in culture, the right blamed the public's intelligence; when pushed back in education, they only criticized the institutions.

The book calmly explains where the power that moves society lies, rather than advocating for a specific ideology. It also breaks down how culture, education, language, and common sense are accumulated and transferred, piece by piece. And it asks whether these structures can be redesigned from a liberal perspective.

The author argues, "The analytical tools left by Gramsci cannot be monopolized by any single camp," and that "hegemony can be redesigned." In other words, it is diagnosed that it must be achieved through consistent repetition, persistent education, and the accumulation of language and culture in everyday life.

The author, Jeong Gwang-je, is a poet and a researcher of history and philosophy. He served as the director of the Syngman Rhee Institute and is currently the research advisor for the Korean Modern and Contemporary History Research Society and the representative of the philosophy forum Lyceum. He has published four poetry collections, co-translated ‘Heroes of Khokho Mountains,’ and published ‘Joseon, Turned into Myth’ and ‘Humanities on Tatami.’ He is actively engaged in research and practice of the liberal cultural movement and serializes columns under the pen name Matsuyama (송산) in the Korea-US-Japan Daily.

Reporter Lim Yo-hee