A Study Of Gramsci’s Theory Of Civil Society

According to the theory of superstructure reaction in Marxist historical materialism,the superstructure has an important reaction to the economic foundation.Ideology,as the concept superstructure,is actually the ideological system of the ruling class.Ideology has critical function,Ideology can promote social progress and lead social development,Ideology also has the function of maintaining social reality.Gramsci has included civil society into the category of superstructure.He believes that ideology and cultural leadership play an important role in modern countries.Once the ruling class gets control of the cultural leadership,it can consequently control the national ideology.Therefore,for the ruling class,the control of cultural leadership is essential.From the perspectives of cultural leadership,organic intellectuals,positional warfare,cultivation of cultural groups and cultural organizations,he comprehensively expounds the theory of how to gain political leadership by mastering cultural leadership,and how to achieve the goal of stable governance by taking good advantage of the cultural field.Which to some extent,embodies the thought that the superstructure in the historical materialism of Marx and Engels has an important counter effect.At present,China attaches more and more importance to the construction of ideology and has made some achievements in the construction of ideology,but still faces challenges from home and abroad,"Westernization","differentiation" and cultural penetration from Western hostile force is constantly arising.With the rise of the Internet and the diversification of communication tools,cultural spreading of China is mixed with good and bad.Therefore,referring to Gramsci’s theory of civil society is of great both practical and theoretical significance for strengthening the ideological construction of China and maintaining the stability of the society.This thesis consists of five parts.The first part includes the background,purpose and significance of the research,the current research situation at home and abroad,the methods used and the main innovations.The second part is a systematic review of Marx and Engels basic theories of the superstructure’s impact on the base.The third part mainly expounds Gramsci’s theory of civil society,including the background of its formation from three aspects: direct factor,practical factor and ultimate cause.The theoretical origin includes classical theory of civil society,Hegel’s theory of civil society and Marx’s theory of civil society.The main content includes Gramsci’s classification of civil society as an integral part of superstructure cultural leadership theory,organic intellectuals and positional warfare.In the fourth part,comments are made on the positive significance and shortcomings of Gramsci’s theory of civil society.The positive significance lies in that it has promoted a new field research on the cultural issues of Western Marxism,guided the revolutionary practice of the proletariat in capitalist countries,and promoted the further development of Western Marxist Theory,whereas,the shortcomings can be seen in that it does not go deep into the exploitation essence of capitalist system,and overemphasizing the decisive role of cultural leadership.The fifth part focuses on the enlightenment learn from Gramsci’s civil society theory on the ideological construction of our own country.Specifically,it includes: reinforcing the ideological construction,attaching greater importance to the impact of superstructure,improving the ability of the ruling party in the ideological construction,actively cultivating the main forces of ideological construction in the new era,attaching importance to the construction of ideological position in China,and attach importance to the leading and maintaining function of ideology for social development.