The conflictual dimension and possibilities of technological development in the comparison between Marx and Gramsci

Abstract

The article analyzes the views on technological development in the works of Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci, drawing on their original writings as well as critical commentators, and establishing parallels, continuities, and points of divergence. The aim of the paper is to reaffirm the fundamental Marxian connection between productive forces and social relations in order to analyze technological phenomena and innovation, in contrast to non-dialectical pers- pectives. Through a literature review and a comparison with contemporary interpretations, the article argues for a convergence between the two authors, based mainly on two points: first, their holistic view of technical development, understood as part of a broader social totality; and second, their shared notion of the working class’s potential to appropriate technology — an open possi- bility that must emerge from the working class itself as it attains power and hegemony. In this way, the article challenges both deterministic approaches and pessimistic interpretations that endorse a narrative of technological pa- lingenesis.