György Lukács

György Lukács 1917-1.1

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György Lukács (13 April 1885 – 4 June 1971) was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher, aesthetician, and literary critic. He is considered a founding figure of the Western Marxism tradition, a non-orthodox branch that emphasizes the Hegelian and dialectical aspects of Karl Marx's work. Lukács is best known for his pre-World War II writings in Marxist literary theory, particularly his seminal work History and Class Consciousness (1923). His ideas have had a profound impact on the development of Western Marxist thought and the theory of literary criticism.

Life and Work

Born in Budapest, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Lukács came from a wealthy Jewish family. He was initially drawn to the works of Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Søren Kierkegaard, and his early work was influenced by German Idealism and Romanticism. However, the outbreak of World War I and the Russian Revolution (1917) profoundly affected Lukács, leading him to embrace Marxism.

After the war, Lukács became a member of the Hungarian Communist Party and played a significant role in the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919. Following its collapse, he fled to Vienna, where he became a key figure in the development of Marxist theory, particularly through his work on redefining the role of culture, consciousness, and literature within Marxist thought.

Major Works

Lukács's most influential work, History and Class Consciousness, argues that the proletariat's class consciousness is necessary for the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism. This work was criticized by the Soviet Union's Communist Party for its emphasis on the Hegelian dialectic, which was seen as deviating from orthodox Marxist materialism.

In his later years, particularly in his work The Theory of the Novel (1916), Lukács developed a theory of the novel as a literary form that expresses the deep contradictions of modern bourgeois society. He also wrote extensively on realism in literature, advocating for the critical and revolutionary potential of realist works in Studies in European Realism and The Historical Novel.

Philosophical Contributions

Lukács's philosophy is marked by his attempt to reconcile the dialectical method with Marxism, emphasizing the importance of totality (the understanding of society as a whole) and alienation, a concept he borrowed from Hegel but reinterpreted in a Marxist framework. His concept of reification (the process by which social relationships are perceived as characteristics of things rather than human actions and relations) is another significant contribution, highlighting the ways in which capitalist society obscures the true nature of human relations.

Legacy

György Lukács's work has had a lasting impact on Marxist philosophy, critical theory, and literary criticism. Despite controversies surrounding his political affiliations and philosophical shifts, his contributions to the understanding of culture, consciousness, and literature within a Marxist framework remain influential. His ideas have inspired generations of thinkers in the fields of critical theory, cultural studies, and beyond.