The Conflicting Dimension and the Possibilities of Techno-logical Development in Marx and Gramsci

Abstract

The article analyses the views on technological development in the works of Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci, based on their original texts and critical commentators, establishing parallels, continuities, and highlighting differences. The aim of the paper is to reinforce the connection between productive forces and social relations, which is fundamental in Marxian theory, in order to analyse technological phenomena and innovations, in contrast to non-dialectical perspectives. Through a literature review and engagement with contemporary interpretations, the article suggests a convergence between the two authors on two points: first, their integral view of technical development, approached from the standpoint of totality; and second, the idea of the working class’s potential to appropriate technology, seen as an open possibility that must emerge from the class itself through the conquest of power and hegemony. In this way, the article sets up a confrontation with, on the one hand, deterministic views, and, on the other, more negative ones, that advocate a perspective of technological palingenesis.

 Technological development; Antonio Gramsci; Karl Marx; Productive forces; Social relations.