Description
In this paper, I build on Gramscian notions of power by developing a notion I term ‘hegemonic surfeit’. For Gramsci and his adherents, the political and economic establishment fosters consent among subordinate classes through the dissemination, inculcation, and appropriation of seductive and pacifying ideologies. In this article, I argue that subordinate groups may adopt such ideals too well and to such an extent that it undermines key objectives of the ruling class. That is, the very success in imparting certain ideals among the population can magnify, become unwieldly, backfire and cause crisis for the political establishment. This, in other words, is the problem of too much hegemony. I illustrate this through the 2016 Brexit vote, in which hegemonic notions of xenophobia, nationalism and reverence for sovereignty, including from the Remain campaign, played a significant and pivotal role in sections of the electorate voting against the interests of the domestic and transnational ruling class’s commitment to the neoliberal enterprise of the EU. While not necessarily insurmountable, this has caused a significant crisis for the political establishment. In the conclusion, I contend that the notion of hegemonic surfeit has considerable value in understanding political crises far beyond Brexit.
