An anthology of western Marxism : from Lukács and Gramsci to socialist-feminism (original) (raw)
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Thesis Eleven 157:1, 2020
In History and Class Consciousness' central essay "Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat" Lukács resolved the antinomies of bourgeois philosophy in the revolutionary "standpoint of the proletariat". Lukács' strategy in deriving this proletarian standpoint, however, transposed the logical necessity appropriate to philosophical determinations into possibilities for revolutionary praxis imbedded in socio-historical contexts. Further, since the standpoint is determined as the necessary solution to bourgeois antinomies, it must be conceived singularly, rather than through its manifest diversity. As the key to mediating the social totality beyond antinomies, the "standpoint of the proletariat" is therefore merely reflectively posited and onesidedly determined. While many have developed logical, social-analytic, and political problems associated with determining the proletariat by way of its imputed or party-determined rather than empirical consciousness, few point to the very concept "standpoint of the proletariat" as the source for these problems due to the fact that it is an abstractly derived solution to a philosophically posed problem. Socio-historical determination working with the modality of possibility can resolve Lukács' antinomic determination of the standpoint of the proletariat.
Revista de Estudios Sociales, 2024
Abstract | One hundred years after the publication of History and Class Consciousness, it is imperative to revisit the classic work of Georg Lukács to discuss the relevance of his ideas in a world where the capitalist mode of production does not cease to show its devastating effects. To do so, we divide the article into two sections. In the first part, we place Lukács’ work in dialogue with that of Hegel and Marx in order to clarify the status of violence as an ontological condition of history, allowing us to determine the theoretical-practical framework from which social revolution can be conceptualized. In the second section, we analyze Lukács’ notion of class consciousness not as a historical fatality but as an act of self-determination of the proletariat. We compare this proposal with the current situation of gentrification of the proletariat which, far from invalidating the Hungarian author’s proposal, constitutes its reversal and the platform for its actualization. Ultimately, it is about the proletarian still today taking control and becoming, through class consciousness, the subject-object of history. We conclude by reinterpreting Lukács’ terms in a practice that counters a reactionary position in order to combat both the reactionary movements and the hedonistic immobilism of the proletariat. --- Resumen | A cien años de la publicación de Historia y conciencia de clase, resulta necesario revisitar la clásica obra de Georg Lukács para discutir la actualidad de sus planteamientos en un mundo donde el modo de producción capitalista no deja de mostrar sus efectos devastadores. Para esto, dividimos el artículo en dos apartados. En la primera parte, ponemos en diálogo la obra de Lukács con la de Hegel y Marx para precisar la violencia como condición ontológica de la historia, y establecer cuál es el estatuto teórico-práctico desde el cual se puede pensar la revolución social. En el segundo apartado, analizamos la noción de conciencia de clase de Lukács no como una fatalidad histórica, sino como un acto de autodeterminación del proletariado. Asimismo, cotejamos esta propuesta con la situación actual de aburguesamiento del proletariado que, lejos de invalidar el planteamiento del autor húngaro, constituye su revés y la plataforma de su actualización. Se trata, a fin de cuentas, de que todavía hoy el proletario tome el timón y devenga, por medio de la conciencia de clase, sujeto-objeto de la historia. Concluimos con una reinterpretación de los términos de Lukács en una práctica que deseche una posición reaccionaria para combatir frontalmente tanto los movimientos reaccionarios como el inmovilismo hedonista del proletariado.
Marxism on this side of the Iron Curtain: an honors thesis (HONRS 499)
2011
Many shy away from Marxism, associating it only with the Soviet Union. This thesis attempts to highlight and briefly explain selections from the large body of western Marxist theory in order to show the independence of Marxism from the Soviet influence and acquaint the reader with some of the significant topics examined by Western Marxists. It begins with a brief history of Marxism and socialism and moves on to an explanation of the fundamental concepts in Marxism. The thesis then covers the views of various Western Marxist theorists, including Adorno, Lukacs, Benjamin, Gramsci, Althusser, and Zizek. It also includes discussions of theorists such as Sartre and Derrida, who, while influential in their own right, made attempts to integrate their theories with Marxism. Huyssen, Andreas.
“A Whole Way of Struggle?”: Western Marxisms, Social Movements, and Culture
Conceptualizing Culture in Social Movement Research, 2014
The literature on "Marxism and culture" is forbiddingly large, covering many of the key cultural theorists of the past century, and could hardly be covered in a single chapter except as a very casual overview. 2 That on "Marxism and social movements" might appear smaller, although there is more activist and academic reflection on the topic, if not always tagged with the phrase "social movement", than might be thought. 3 This chapter, however, has a narrower focus. It reflects on the work of a number of "Western Marxist" writers who have been active as theorists both of social movements and of popular culture, such as Antonio Gramsci and Györgi Lukács, EP Thompson and