Social Solidarity and the Gramscian Subaltern Politics of the Multitude

This article puts forward theoretical possibilities to reconcile contending paradigms reflecting on collective subjectivation, political action, and social transformation at present. It proposes to entangle the horizontal politics of the multitude and the vertical politics of hegemony within local arenas by developing constituent subaltern politics through grassroots radical agency. In this scenario, social solidarity emerges as a theoretical-practical element enacting new prefigurative politics and engendering the subjectivation process of multiple social forces into a constituent collective subject. Firstly, it analyses the potential and shortcomings of the horizontal and vertical paradigms, laying the groundwork for the following theoretical possibilities. It then elaborates on social solidarity as a two-sided concept underpinning an alternative understanding of the emerging collective social subject of our times and the radical democratic politics it brings into play for creating a new social order from local spaces. Lastly, potential research roads to examine these theoretical claims are indicated.