Struggle for Development and Democracy

Alessandro Olsaretti is an independent researcher in Montreal, where he gained his PhD in sociology from McGill University in 2013 with a thesis on Antonio Gramsci. He has published articles in Critical Sociology, the Journal of Classical Sociology, and Historical Materialism. He has also worked on Ottoman history, social history, and the history of social and political thought, and has published in the Radical History Review, Social History, and the International History Review. Outside academia, he has worked as a database analyst in the finance sector, development sector, and fundraising sector, and has published a novel titled The Caravaggio Code. He is working on a series of essays titled Towards a Humanist Social Science.

• AcknowledgementsList of FiguresIntroduction1 Defending Theory and an Eclectic Methodology for Formulating It2 The New Theories and the Main Hypotheses and Theses on Neoliberalismpart 1The Project and the Need for New Approaches1 The Project and Theories of Development and Democracy1.1 The Project and the Answers and Alternatives That It Proposes1.2 The Project and Its Importance to Achieve a Paradigm Shift1.3 The Significantly New Theory of Democracy Proposed1.4 The Significantly New Theory of Development Proposed1.5 Uneven Development, Civil Society and Engineering1.6 The Importance of Civil Society and Universities1.7 The Importance of the State and Defense2 An Intellectual Journey, the Struggle for Objectivity, and Elitism2.1 Humanism, Synthesis, and Political-Military Development2.2 Broad Pictures and a Humanist Social Science2.3 The Difficulties Faced by Some Intellectual Projects2.4 McGill University and the Social Conditions for Objectivity2.5 Aristocratic-military Elites and a Humanistic Education2.6 Broad Pictures of Society and History and Their Importance2.7 Implications for Cultural Studies and International Relationspart 2Continuing Gramsci's Project through a Humanist Social Science3 Gramsci's Project and a Significantly New Theory of Democracy3.1 Gramsci and His Legacy and Approach to Philosophy3.2 Gramsci's Project and His Theory of Democracy3.3 Gramsci's Project and Related Projects in Italy3.4 Gramsci's Project and the Projects of Structural Marxists3.5 Gramsci's Project and the Projects of Analytical Marxists3.6 A View of Democracy That Rejects Eurocentrism3.7 A View of Scientific Knowledge That Rejects Eurocentrism4 A Humanist Social Science That Promotes Cultural Democracy4.1 Gramsci's Humanist Social Science and Cultural Democracy4.2 The Anthropological-Sociological View of Philosophy4.3 The Contribution from Popular Culture to Theory4.4 The Contribution from Popular Art to Theory4.5 The Eclectic Methodology, Rhetoric, and Theory4.6 The Contribution from Theory to Popular Culture4.7 The Contribution from Rhetoric to Popular Culturepart 3The Methodology and the Hypotheses and Theses of the Project5 The Theory, and the Hypotheses and Theses on Elites5.1 Specialization and the Origins of One-Sidedness5.2 Specialization Due to Compartmentalization5.3 Specialization Due to the Needs of Empirical Research5.4 Theory, Theoretical Groundwork and General Theory5.5 The Contribution from Theoretical Groundwork5.6 The Contribution from General Theory5.7 Theoretical Groundwork and Hypotheses on Elites5.8 General Theory and Theses on Elites and Masses6 Case Studies and Hypotheses on Hegemony and Collective Action6.1 Historical Case Studies to Understand Contemporary Cases6.2 The Use of Case Studies to Understand Hegemony6.3 Gramsci's Theory of Hegemony and Collective Action6.4 Gramsci's Theory and Criticism of Elite Theorists6.5 The British Elite and Its Use of Culture for Consent6.6 The Piedmontese Elite and Its Collective Action Advantage6.7 Meso Collective Action Problems, Cooptation, and Defection6.8 General Theory and Theses on the Origins of DemocracyConclusionsBibliographyIndex