The idea of subaltern is usually used in the military field.
Subaltern , originating from the Latin term subalternus , is a concept that is used to name or qualify someone who has a lower rank or who is subordinate . The idea can also be applied to someone who is under another .
For example: "A subordinate is not in a position to make this type of decision without consulting his superior" , "The junior staff refused to participate in the protest" , "The secretary gladly accepted to be a subordinate of the new minister appointed by the president" .
The etymology of the term subaltern
When observing the etymology of the term subaltern , we notice that its Latin ancestor is formed with the prefix sub- (which indicates an inferior position, as can be seen in the words auction, suburb and sublime ), the word alter (whose most approximate translation in this case is "other", present in altruistic and altercation ) and the suffix -anus (in our language, -ano , which speaks of origin or belonging, and is found in terms such as artisan, countryman and old man ).
Leaving aside for a moment the suffix sub- , we can focus on alternus , a Latin term for which we have received different words in our language, among which are the following: alternate (one part follows the other successively), alternate (get two or more events to take place one after the other, to occur in turns), alternated (a task that has been the recipient of the verb alternate), alternation (the action and effect of alternating), alternative (relating to alternation) and alternative (something that is presented as a potential replacement for something else).
On a hierarchical scale, the subordinate is below another.
Hierarchical scale
The notion is used when there is a hierarchical scale and there are people who occupy different positions or roles. In the army and the police force , to name two cases, there are subordinates and individuals who occupy management positions. It can be said that a corporal , in this sense, is subordinate to the sergeant .
Although the word is not used as much in the field of companies , these organizations also have hierarchies and, therefore, subordinate personnel. An intern or intern who works in the marketing sector of a firm is a subordinate to the manager of said sector.
Subaltern in the social sciences
In the social sciences , the idea of the subaltern can be used to explain the relationships between different social classes . According to this position, there are sectors of society that are subaltern to others because they lack control of the means of production. This position leads the subaltern sectors to always depend on the decisions of the dominant class , which holds power (both economic, political and cultural).
The use of the term subaltern in this social sense was proposed by the Italian philosopher, journalist and politician Antonio Gramsci , who lived between 1891 and 1937, also known for having founded the Italian Communist Party , which cost him the dislike of Benito Mussolini and took him to jail. The sectors that social sciences consider subaltern are the marginalized, the lower classes of a society.
Boaventura de Sousa Santos , a doctor in Sociology of Law from Portugal , talks about a concept that he calls subaltern cosmopolitanism when he touches on the topic of practices that oppose hegemony, of resistance, struggles and movements against globalization. neoliberal, especially work that seeks to end social exclusion . In this case, the word subaltern is used in the sense of people who suffer oppression and marginalization, and who fight against the factors that feed this situation.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to imagine a world in which there are no barriers that divide us into groups according to our purchasing power and that prevent so many people from leading a dignified and healthy life. The word subaltern, in this context, serves to describe a very negative aspect of the social organization of our species.