ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Gramsci's body of work a dialectical sense of history that keeps in check both the perils and possibilities of human praxis. It turns to Gramsci, master in turning clumsy and heavy words into svelt and fluid elements of lived life, way of thinking that is expedited by dialectics. The chapter constrains by dominant approaches to Gramsci that, in communication, are predominantly mediated by a specific ramification of cultural studies. 'Vertically' refers to the possibility of dialectically translating, as supersession or sublation, from one level of elaboration and coherence to a superior one. The careful examination of texts selected and the contradictory elements found allowed us to both apply and rework Gramscian terms such as 'integral state', 'passive revolution', and 'national popular' in dialectical terms. It also enabled an exploration of how particular practices horizontal organization, populist leadership, or commonsensical rhetoric mimicked and departed from the others, thus contributing to the continuous activity and adjusting of culture.
