tionary transformation arisein thefield of the forcesand
relations of production,it is in theseother“ideological
formsin whichmenbecomeconsciousof thisconflict and
fight it out.”
Thus,the struggleover the ideological formsandthe
concrete consciousness thatarises outof thoseforms
gainsenormoussaliencefor the practiceof revolutionas
such.Gramsci’sgreatinterestin actual,empiricalana-
lysesof thesemanyideologicalformsin Italianhistory
andsociety andhis ambition to formulate a scienceof
superstructures arises out of thisrevolutionarynecessity,
notin somenew-fangledpostmodernculturalism.
Thereis an allegationthat in the SovietUnionthe
Marxistideasof dictatorshipof the proletariatand
democraticcentralismmadedemocracya casualty,
especiallyin the periodof JosephStalin.On the other
hand,leftistthinkerslike AntonioNegritheoriseabout
the revoltnot of the traditionalworkingclassbut of the
multitude,withouta single-partyleadership.Whatin
yourviewis the relevanceand importanceof a
communistparty?
Thetwoconceptsyoumentionhavedifferentorigins.
Theconceptof “dictatorshipof theproletariat”dates
backto Marxhimself.In theManifestoitself,Marxde-
scribesthe liberalstateas a managingcommittee of the
bourgeoisieas a whole. Elsewhere, he describedthatkind
of stateas a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie overthe restof
societyin generalandoverthe proletariatin particular—
thatis, the dictatorshipof a tinyminorityoverthe great
majority. In today’s languageyoucouldsay “dictatorship
of the 1 per centoverthe 99 per cent”.“Dictatorshipof the
proletariat” wasto be the absolutenegation of the dictat-
orshipof the bourgeoisie.In otherwords,it signified the
ruleof the absolute majorityovera tinyminorityor, if you
will,the dictatorshipof labourovercapital.Lenin’sfam-
ousslogan“Allpowerto theSoviets”hadroughly the
samemeaning as “dictatorshipof the proletariat”, thatis,
a moreperfectdemocracyin which variouskindsof
labourrepresentedthemselvesthroughnewformsof
organisation.
By contrast, theconceptof democraticcentralism
refersto Lenin’s organisationalconceptfor theillegal-
ised,undergroundrevolutionary partyin conditionsof
tsaristautocracy and,by extension, moregenerally in
timesof greatstaterepression. RosaLuxemburghad
already warned, in Lenin’sowntime,thatthisorganisa-
tionalformcouldunder differentcircumstancesdegen-
erateintoan autocraticruleby a tinycliqueor evenintoa
personaliseddictatorship.However,I mustsay thatevery
partyformor stateformcarrieswithin it the possibility of
degeneration, andhowwella conceptfunctionsin prac-
ticehasto do withthe peoplewhoimplementit andthe
objective conditionsthatdeterminethe conduct of those
people. Thekindof authoritarian statethatemerged
duringthe periodof Stalin’sleadershiphadverycomplex
originsin the material conditions thatprevailed andis by
no meansreducibleto oneconcept or another.
As for [Antonio]Negri,he beganhis careerwitha
workeristkindof ultra-leftism andwaseveninvolvedin
Italywithterrorgroupsof an ultra-Leftvanguardist
nature. Somethreedecadeslater,he emergedwitha kind
of theorisationwhichI regardas an extremeformof
anarchismbutoneso oddthathe deniesthe veryreality
of Americanimperialismor anyidentifiablecentresof
corporatepower.Hisideaof the“Multitude”canbe
explainedin manyways,butin essenceit arisesoutof
thatkindof theoretical incoherence.In practiceit shares
the worldviewof the NGOworldwhichdeniesthe factof
classstruggleandcallsfor “Changingthe Worldwithout
TakingPower”—inshort,a series of social reforms that
leadto a morehumanefaceof capitalism.
Wehavelearnedat leasttwothingsfromthe experi-
enceof recentuprisingsin theArabworld.Whatare
called “spontaneous”uprisings of the massesthathave no
clear-headed leadership—Negri’s “multitude”, so to
speak—are highly susceptible to manipulation, as
happenedin Egyptwhere a powerfulmassmovement
wassoontakenoverby the MuslimBrotherhoodandled
to the Islamists’ electoral success which, in turn,
frightened a wholemultitudeof Egyptiansto sucha
degree thattheyactuallywelcomed the military coupthat
overthrew thegovernmentof theMuslim Brotherhood
andbroughtthe greatTahrirSquare uprisingto a tragic