Hegemony is the social, economic and/or political supremacy of one group or state over others. The word "hegemony" is attributed to Antonio Gramsci for his writings from prison under the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini. Gramsci defines hegemony as “dominance achieved by consensus”. It also focuses on the process of acquiring and prolonging such power through coercion and consent respectively. The method of hegemony consists in the cautious manipulation of social foundations by the authoritarian class, to impose its beliefs on the general masses, such that the modified social culture is assumed as the norm. Such a cultural state leads to the resulting social, economic and political inconsistencies being absorbed as conventional. These social constructs, in turn, are perceived as natural and beneficial to the broader general masses, when in reality they only serve the dominant group. Its ultimate goal is to replace the worldview of the majority with that of the dominant social class." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Over the last 200 years, the media method has transformed from newspapers, radio, televisions to social platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc. the thing remained the same everywhere, that is. many of these media outlets and newspapers are owned by incredibly wealthy people, as such they will tend to have an editorial outlook that will support political parties or policies that legitimize the existence of broad wealth equality. {Even if social platforms are not owned by wealthy people, they are used to manipulate the public – e.g. Trump's victory and its connection with Facebook}. However, these media do not present this as one side of a multifaceted argument. They present it as a simple vision of the world based on “common sense”, which is how this idea takes root deeply in the masses. Taking a simple example of one of the oldest social stratification systems in the world, the caste system in India, where Hindus are divided into 4 categories: Brahmin (priests, teachers), Kshatriya (warriors, rulers), Vaishya (farmers, traders) and Shudras (workers). It is a rigid system, where people born into a caste cannot change it in their lifetime, which means a worker's child cannot get an education and become a teacher one day. The origin of the classification, although related to mysticism, favors only upper class people, viz. the Brahmins or Kshatriyas, the hegemons. The system which dates back to almost 3 millennials, made people believe that the majority of the population (Vaishaya and Shudra) should be deprived of education or other benefits valued by the upper castes. Hegemony can be observed almost everywhere, English as a linguistic hegemony, globalization of world cuisine through brands like KFC, Starbucks etc., engineering as a hegemonic profession among the Indian masses. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The dialectical nature of hegemony (coercion and consent) can be adequately explained by the political-administrative dynamics in colonial India. India undoubtedly could not be ruled by the British solely through direct rule and acts of forcing compliance. Starting with trade through the British East India Company and later defeating the French at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the English began to actively colonize Indian territories and then show coercion. The colonial system, through mechanisms, 46(3), 308-327.