Tutti gli uomini sono ideologi

The aim of this paper is to clarify the gradual broadening of the concept of ideology in Notebooks 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Prison Notebooks. The philological method is at the basis of this research. In Notebook 1 Gramsci uses the term “ideology” in its common sense, with the opacity that it implies. Ideology is connected with misrepresentation (N 1, § 24), but Gramsci also uses the expression “ideological strata” (N 1, § 43) that implies a gnoseological theory. From May 1930 with the beginning of Notebooks 3 and 4 and with translations of Marxian anthology Lohnarbeit und Kapital, Gramsci innovates the notion and the concept of ideology. The paragraph 49 of Notebook 3, entitled Cultural topics. Ideological material, marks a turning point in the elaboration of the notion of ideology. Gramsci reflects upon the ideological structure of a ruling class, remarking the importance of the material structure of ideology. Paragraph 12 of Notebook 11, written in June 1932, shows clearly the link between gnoseology and political project of Prison Notebooks: the new definition of ideology makes possible a uniform representation of superstructures in all their forms.