“We need to create sober, patient people, who do not despair in the face of the worst horror and who do not get excited about every little thing. Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.” Happy birthday to the author of these lines, Antonio Gramsci! Born in Sardinia in 1891, Gramsci left his island home at a young age to study in Turin, then the stronghold of Italian industrial capitalism. In 1919 and 1920 he was a leading figure in the Turin workers’ council movement. In 1921, he co-founded…