In order to grasp the political economic processes of the construction of transnational hegemony, the actions of both dominant and subordinate actors in the international system have to be studied. Indeed, hegemony is best understood as a form of political struggle. In the time since Chilean intellectuals began to study mass communication systematically, Chile has experienced transnational hegemony, its breaking down under a challenge from Chile's popular classes, a passive revolution in the form of military dictatorship, and reinsertion into a neoliberal transnational hegemony. The contributions of these intellectuals have not only been conditioned by these political events, but the intellectuals themselves have also contributed to creating political possibilities for Chile, both for and against hegemony. This intellectual history examines the relations between the efforts of Chilean scholars to understand their field and protect their professional autonomy, and to support struggles against hegemony.