Gramsci is the darling of academic sociologists, who have used his insights (especially the concept of “hegemony”) in countless obscure books and articles. Of course, these intellectuals never give much mention to Gramsci’s activism in the Italian Communist Party. To them, Gramsci achieved greatness when he was locked up by Mussolini, since he could write pure theory that wasn’t soiled with his revolutionary activities. The irony, of course, is that Gramsci concerned himself with the `unity’ of theory and action, and that he despised the elitist, insular academic world. This book contains some of his best essays on this theme, especially the Critical Notes on Bukharin’s “Popular Study” of Marxism. Gramsci believes, in the Marxist tradition, that philosophy and theory are only useful as guides to practical action. Under capitalism, the working class is the main force of progressive change, and the workers’ party systematizes the working-class demands into a concrete program. In that case, the proper source of intellectual thought is not the individual in the university, but the “collective organism” of a revolutionary party: “In this way a close bond is formed between the large mass, the party and the leading group, and the whole well-co-ordinated complex can move as a ‘collective-man’…” It is sadly ironic that Gramsci was forced to write these lines while isolated in a fascist prison, but that does not take away from their revolutionary content.