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In his article, “Gramscian (re-)vision of the politics of governance/resistance,” Mark Rupert attempts to rephrase western Marxism to align with the semi-globalized anti-capitalism movements coalescing throughout the world.  This class based interpretation seems to lend itself well to the growing dynamic of resistance throughout the global “proletariat.”  The similarities found between the Gramscian “intellectual-moral bloc” and the global anti-capitalism movement are striking, and even promising.
Gramsci’s vision of revolution, as interpreted by Rupert, grows out of what might be considered the opposite of Marx’s vision of capitalism.  Scott Solomon’s idea of the “dual freedom” of capitalism (quoted by Rupert), suggests that although capitalism liberates society of the politico-economics of feudalism it in turn enslaves the very people it emancipates through a different social structure of oppression.  Instead of being peasants to Kings and Queens, those oppressed are under the influence manufactured needs and commodities.  When economy is separated from government, as is almost the case in the USA humans become stock and lives become commodified, and although developed democracies limit the degree  to which their own population is subjected to such subservience there are few if any laws regarding the global south.  Globalization of this system has lead to a worldwide oppression, a northern kingdom built on the backs of a southern proletariat.
It is against this system that many of the anti-globalization movements Rupert describes have arisen.  According to Gramsci these movements are built from the bottom up.  Grassroots movements, growing and working off one another in a participatory fashion in order to be a revolution in the midst of repression.  A particularly interesting portion of Gramsci’s conjectures is the idea of a popular common sense.  In my view it seems that some have taken for granted the knowledge found in communities with no unversities, colleges or even formalized methods of education.  When grassroots movements from such places interact with those more “sophisticated” I would hope that a Gramscian vision of teacher/student would be central to the exchange.
Whether the anti-globalization movement and other movements around the world actually represent a Gramscian vision of revolution on a global scale or not has yet to be seen.  If Rupert’s interpretation of Gramsci is correct, then we should hope that it does.

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