WEEK 9 – GRAMSCI AND BREAD AND CIRCUSES Gramsci
What does Gramsci mean by war of position and war of manoeuvre? Compare and contrast the latter to the culture wars? What is common sense and why is it not totally ‘common sensical’ according to Gramsci? How has it contributed to the sturdiness of capitalist bourgeois civil society? What sort of compromises and concessions has capitalism made to workers? How might progressive intellectuals confront common sense and the ordinary people who embody it? Should they treat them as children or comrades? Can they be ‘clerk militants’? What do you make of Gramsci’s doctrine and program for change? Why does Brooks say that people vote against their own self-interest in the US? Would Gramsci have anything to add? Can these arguments be applied to Australia?
The Great Affluenza Debate
Red Group will take a Hamilton-based perspective arguing that there is a ‘flat-screen TV crisis’ in Australia. What are the symptoms, causes and cures for affluenza? You might also want to incorporate an argument about regulating pokies. Blue Group will take a Kerin and Saunders position against the affluenza wowsers. Why is capitalism good for the soul?