Morbid Symptoms: What Did Gramsci Really Mean?

Abstract One of Gramsci’s most quoted phrases is his 1930 statement in the Prison Notebooks that ‘[t]he crisis consists precisely fact old dying and new cannot be born; this interregnum a great variety morbid symptoms appear’. This has traditionally been taken to refer emergence fascism against background capitalist failure anti-capitalist forces. However, closer examination textual historical context sentence indicates Gramsci was more likely have referring pci ’s ultraleft turn conjunction with Comintern’s Third Period.