gramsci quote
Minggu, 09 September 2012
The active man in the mass has a
practical activity, but has no clear theoretical consciousness of his
practical activity, which nonetheless involves understanding the world
in so far as it transforms it. His theoretical consciousness can indeed
be historically in opposition to his activity. One might almost say that
he has two theoretical consciousness (or one contradictory): one which
is implicit in his activity and which in reality unites him with his
fellow workers in the practical transformation of the real world; and
one superficially explicit or verbal, which he has inherited from the
past and uncritically absorbed. But this verbal conception is not
without consequences. It holds together a specific social group, it
influences moral conduct and the direction of will, with varying
efficacity but often powerfully enough to produce a situation in which
the contradictory state of consciousness does not permit any action, any
decision or any choice, and produces a condition of moral and political
passivity.
