Antonio Gramsci — Italian Politician born on January 23, 1891, died on April 27, 1937

Antonio Gramsci (Italian: listen (help·info); 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist theoretician and politician. He wrote on political theory, sociology and linguistics. He was a founding member and one-time leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime. Gramsci is best known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how states use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies... (wikipedia)

The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned.
I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.
To tell the truth is revolutionary.
My practicality consists in this, in the knowledge that if you beat your head against the wall it is your head which breaks and not the wall - that is my strength, my only strength.
Pessimism of the spirit; optimism of the will.