ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the post-Marxism of Ernesto Laclau's theory of revolutionary subjectivity. It starts by assessing the context from which this theory would emerge, particularly with respect to Laclau's early political experiences in his native Argentina. Laclau's first lesson in hegemony was formative for both his early and later theory of revolutionary subjectivity. Laclau's theory of revolutionary subjectivity did not deny the importance of class or class struggle, but did nevertheless dislodge it from the immediate point of production to the spheres of politics and ideology. Laclau's work throughout the 1990s grounds his theory by turning to the Lacanian ontology of lack, and through his concept of dislocation returns to clarify aspects of his early thought, particularly with respect to the nature and importance of structural crises. In his most recent work Laclau reconsiders the importance of populism and its emphasis on the subjectivity of the people.
