Hegemony
Hegemony can be defined as “the social, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group.” -Merriam Webster [1] Hegemony was popularized by Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, writer, and politician. He was imprisoned by the Mussolini regime for his revolutionary ideology. \
Examples of Hegemony
|
Disposability discourse |
Much discussion around the severity of COVID was lessened by expressing how it mainly sickens and kills elderly, chronically ill, and disabled people. This discourse suggests these groups are seen disposable. |
|
Loosened restrictions too early |
When governments loosened COVID restrictions in response to business demands, political pressure, and public impatience, rather than scientific evidence, high risk populations (the chronically ill, disabled and elderly) were subsequently told they are disposable yet again. |
|
Working through illness |
Regulations around how many sick days should be required when someone falls ill with COVID also demonstrated ableism. In relation to these regulations, and in favour of profit above health, many politicians including US President Joe Biden, praised themselves for working through COVID, instead of encouraging people to rest and recover if they'd fallen ill. |
|
Individualism |
Individuals have been encouraged to make 'personal' choices on vaccines (without legitimate health restrictions), masks and gatherings. "There is no individual safety without collective safety and collective safety requires that no one is safe unless everyone is safe." - Mia Mingus [2] |
If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.
