Concept in Definition ABC

Superiority in any order

In general terms, the word supremacy is used in our language to designate the superiority or supremacy of any order, for example that exercised by an entity over other the same type.

Territorial hegemony, a classic supremacy

The term can be applied in various situations and contexts, however, in our language it is mostly used to speak or give an account of the supremacy and the superiority that one state or a people exercises over another and that is basically based on the power that one has and the weakness that the other has in relation to he. In other words, hegemony in this sense indicates the dominance that one territory or country has over another. A basic example of this relationship is that a nation disposes of a colony of his.

The dominance of areas such as politics, the economy and the military influence hegemony

Another common type of hegemony is the one that occurs between the Nations, a Nation or block of Nations can have this as a consequence of having a important potential in several areas, such as political, military, economic, cultural or in just one of these but that is enough to stand out in that context for over others.

In this same sense, when we speak of world hegemony, what is meant is the dominance of the world that a certain country holds over others, which is due to this situation. They submit to their decisions, because in this way, when necessary, they will be able to obtain economic favor or military aid in case they have to face militarily with another nation.

The United States today and in the slightly more distant past, the United Kingdom, have known how to dispose of the nickname of hegemonic nations due to the incredible development that achieved in various aspects, but fundamentally it is worth noting that it is the economic issue that mostly makes some nations more dominant and others more weak.

A superiority with bad press

We must emphasize regarding the approach to this concept that it tends to have a negative connotation for many because it is immediately linked to the oppression and authoritarian exercise of power that can and is capable of being exercised by that nation that has the authority to do so over that other that is considered weaker and to which then there is no other than accept it.

Even those who flatly oppose this type of state of affairs that occurs naturally in the politics international since ancient times, promote and associate hegemony with something diabolical and evil.

One of the current examples of this that we expose is given in the speeches of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who in tune with Hugo Chávez, who is already deceased, points out and constantly denounce the hegemony that the United States exercises in the world and whose mission is to intimidate nations that do not align with them and that "pretend" to be free.

We could say that in this discourse there is a certain part and another that is not at all... many nations, especially those that have economic resources Too much pressure weaker nations in some ways that suit them, while on the other hand, countries like Venezuela use that stance against hegemony to unleash political administrations based on paternalism and the lack of Liberty.

Cultural hegemony

On the other hand, and from an exclusively social perspective, we can also find hegemony or cultural superiority that one group holds over others and as such enforces it in the way it can do it. Developed by the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, who is the one who has created the idea of ​​it, the hegemony cultural is that the domination and maintenance of power exercised by a person or group in the key of persuasion, imposing their values, ideologies and beliefs, will configure and sustain the majority system, thus achieving homogeneity in terms of action and thought, as well as with regard to what is produced and published culturally.

That is, according to Gramsci's theory, the ruling class will not only be able to force a social class subordinate or less than satisfying their main interests, renouncing their identity and group culture, but will also manage to exercise total control in the forms of relationship and production of the second and the rest of society. Meanwhile, Gramsci also warns that this process is not easy to notice, because it occurs very subtly.

Today hegemony is basically achieved through the action of cultural agents, among which the mass media stand out. The movie theater is a very good example of this, there, some societies tend to establish certain models of thought and conduct so that later other societies adopt these as their own.

Topics in Hegemony