E. P. Thompson and the Superstructural Drift in Postwar British Marxism

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that Gramsci's influence on British Marxism became significant only after the 1970s, particularly in how his work transcended the traditional zero-sum conception of ideological struggle by emphasizing the dynamic interplay between ruling-class and popular ideologies—a perspective that later informed cultural studies. However, this view, often retrospectively constructed from the standpoint of cultural studies, overlooks the broader trajectory of postwar British Marxism. The engagement between Gramscian theory and British Marxism was in fact a process of mutual attraction, beginning no later than the 1960s, as exemplified by E. P. Thompson's work. Building on his reading of Gramsci's class theory, Thompson sought to move beyond economistic narratives of class by foregrounding class subjectivity. Yet, due to his inattention to Marxist theories of the state, this anti-economistic turn led to a misreading of Gramsci and ultimately reinforced the tendency within British Marxism to privilege superstructural analysis.

Keywords

Postwar British Marxism / Gramscian Turn / Class Consciousness / E. P. Thompson

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