A questão política dos intelectuais; as “elites” dirigentes nos Quardeni del Carcere de A. Gramsci

Abstract

The elite theory, formalized by G. Mosca and V. Pareto in the end of the 19th century, brings in its salience the naturalization of the social differences since it defines the ruling elites through intrinsic qualities, that is, through individual attributes. Like this, the passivity becomes an essential characteristic of the masses. As we will see, such formulations led to a static conception of the history, in the which the revolutions appeared as transitory "phenomena of disturbance of the social balance, caused by the sudden to substitute of a head class for other", without, for this, to turn the equalitarian society. These conceptions fixed deep roots in the Italian culture, where is formed politics and intellectually A. Gramsci. For this reason, when treating of the theme of the direction of the labor movement, the sardo communist could not escape from these essentialist propositions of the Italian positivist sociology. In this article we intended to present the critical way as Gramsci develops the problem of the head elites inside the "intellectuals political matter".