Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist philosopher imprisoned under Mussolini, theorized that ruling classes maintain power through hegemony—the process by which a dominant group's worldview becomes accepted as common sense rather than imposed by force. His analysis, developed in prison notebooks between 1929 and 1935, argues that political power in capitalist societies requires building cultural and intellectual authority through language, institutions, and repeated ideas before state power can be seized.
A century after Rosa Luxemburg's 1919 death, scholars examine her enduring influence on socialist thought and practice. Rather than reducing her to theoretical contributions alone, her lasting significance lies in her exemplary lived life—a synthesis of intense political activism, theoretical work, and personal pursuits that embodied a unified vision of socialist emancipation.