Lecture 10: Getting Consent, Hegemony and Governmentality

Question 1

Antonio Gramsci: Hegemony

Answer 1

• Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937): ‘“spontaneous” consent given by the great masses of the population to the general direction imposed on social life by the dominant fundamental group; this consent is “historically” caused by prestige […] which the dominant group enjoys because of its position and function in the world of production’
• (need to know this quote for the final exam)
• “dominant”: refers to social order, those who are powerful in society
• “prestige”: refers to culture; we support the domination of the most powerful classes because those people are “classy”
• “spontaneous consent”: it’s not the type of consent you’re reflecting on, it’s a reaction to the prestige
  
  • this is required for hegemony to work
  • however, Gramsci knew that people don’t always give their spontaneous consent; to what extent and in what circumstances is consent given?
  • if there is no consent, then there’s a struggle; the struggle can also be “spontaneous”, or it can be explicit

Question 2

Consent as a Part of Hegemony

Answer 2

• consent is crucial to hegemony
• in a typical, democratic, rich society, consent is not (mostly) gained by repression
  
  • the threat of repression is there, but in our everyday lives we don’t require any violence to keep us in place
• it doesn’t need to be conscious
• e.g. working class speakers accept that upper middle class speech (“the standard”) is “better”
  
  • e.g. working class people tend to say “I don’t have nothin’” versus the standard “I don’t have anything” more often; i.e. double negatives and dropping the “g”
  • this isn’t a prejudice, it’s a recorded fact
• this example works to show hegemony because working class people doesn’t always do this
• let’s say the working class person dresses up to to to a special occasion; when they do this, their language becomes more “standard”
• in their mind, they’re thinking that it’s necessary to speak as a “better”, middle class person
• prestige is integral to this, because if you didn’t think the middle class speech was better, then there would be no reason to do it
• but non-standard language hasn’t disappeared because there are always factors against hegemony; i.e. by not speaking the standard language, you’re resisting
• e.g. “good manners”; this is another way to recognize that the way the more prestigious people behave is better
• e.g. deferring to or seeking the company of “high class” people (“name dropping”)
• e.g. dating practices; studying dating practices from an outside perspective, financial stability and status play the most consistent role
• e.g. all “classy” things, like fashion, design, music, and art
• brand marketing is an effort to associate certain brands with whatever class is desired; this is a major feature of the post-industrialist society
  
  • choosing/liking/wanting a brand is accepting hegemony

Question 3

Michel Foucault: Governmentality

Answer 3

• Michel Foucault (1926-1984); French philosopher that came up with this term
• govern-mentality; both the government’s mentality and governing the public’s mentality
• it’s a way to install consent and self-disciplined conformity (hegemony)

Question 4

The Characteristics of Governmentality

Answer 4

• arose with modern industrial society
• gathering information/surveillance
• social welfare practices; governments are interested in their societies being healthy
  
  • governments rule, not through violence, but through providing for the public and getting their willingness and consent
• fostering autonomy and self-discipline; you shouldn’t be like the Merengue dog, you should be giving consent from within
• the goal is to create a conforming (or law-abiding/well-mannered) citizen
• who could be governed for his own and for society’s good
• governmentality is not the same as the government—there is no single individual or group in charge; it pervades society
• e.g. the panopticon is like society; we’re all imprisoned but without the need to be directly talked to we behave ourselves—we never know when we may be under surveillance, so we practice self-discipline because the threat of being watched is enough
• e.g. education; instills individual discipline, we have to work by rules and deadlines, and acquiring knowledge to perform useful economic tasks
• e.g. going to the gym; it’s voluntary, and enjoyable and/or dutiful, and if you become serious then it gets competitive, it fosters individualism and goal-directedness