Between the factory and the revolution: political theory and antifascism in Gramsci

Abstract

This article examines Antonio Gramsci’s theoretical-political development between 1917 and 1926, a period shaped by the Imperialist War, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the rise of fascism. The central thesis argues that the communist's greatest theoretical density was forged in his revolutionary praxis prior to his imprisonment, especially in the daily experience of the Factory Councils, L'Ordine Nuovo, and the founding of the Communist Party of Italy (PCd'I). Within this framework, the factory is conceptualized as both a productive space and a nucleus for the political and cultural development of the subaltern classes. Methodologically, the study employs "living philology" (filologia vivente) from a historical-dialectical perspective, alongside a diachronic approach, to reconstruct Gramsci's trajectory. This analysis draws on newspapers, letters, minutes, and official PCd'I documents, with a primary focus on his journalistic writings. By weaving together political theory and a historical analysis of fascism and antifascism, the study concludes that Gramsci’s core categories—hegemony, critical consciousness, the party, and revolution—are inseparable from the struggles of the proletariat and the peasantry. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that the rise of fascism resulted from the revolutionary forces' inability to consolidate a new hegemony in the face of the post-war organic crisis. By examining Gramsci’s thought "in motion," this study contributes to contemporary debates on antifascism, the organization of subaltern classes, and socialist revolution.