Antonio Gramsci 1891-1937

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Antonio Gramsci 1891-1937

Antonio Gramsci was born on January 22, 1891 in Sardinia. He was the fourth of seven children, and Gennaro, the oldest of the Gramsci children, contributed significantly to Antonio's political development by embracing socialism. He grew up in poverty, was less than five feet tall, and had a hunched back, attributed to him being dropped as a child. However, in 1911 he applied for and won a scholarship to the University of Turin. He studied for four years, after which he began a journalistic career that made him among the most feared critical voices in Italy at that time.

As World War I progressed he began to put his political ideas into action, as a member of the Italian Socialist Party, which joined the communist International. The influence of Marxist theorists at this time had a large impact on Gramscis intellectual development. Furthermore, the force of Fascism was making rapid strides, as Italy came under fascist rule and in Germany the Nazis were rapidly growing. Gramsci concluded that the emergence of fascism reflected the intensification of capitalist crisis. He believed that fascism was an attempt by the upper classes to deal with crisis at