The political theory of Georg Lukács
Daniel Lopez (La Trobe University)

part of: Marxism 2014
April 19, 2014, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Socialist Alternative

University of Melbourne, Parkville
Melbourne
Australia

Go to conference's page

Topic areas

Details

Georg Lukács, the founder of what has become known as Western Marxism, is well known for his unique synthesis of German Idealism, anti-positivist sociology and revolutionary Marxism. His 1923 book History and Class Consciousness is a landmark in radical 20th century philosophy, re-discovering many of the concepts Marx grappled with in his earliest writings. In the truest sense, History and Class Consciousness is to philosophy what Capital is to bourgeois economics. Yet, Lukács has always been a deeply controversial figure. Attacked by the ‘official’ Communist movement and the later generations of Western Marxists alike, few of Lukács’s ideas are remembered, and even these only in debased form. Yet, his totalising social ontology, beginning with the reified immediacy of bourgeois society, rises to a complex and mediated theory of praxis. This theory of praxis is simultaneously the most thoroughgoing critique of ideology yet produced by Marxism and the most supple and dialectical theorisation of revolutionary politics. Most importantly, it is a process centred on the self-emancipation of the proletariat, and understands the transformation of society to be synonymous with the extension and triumph of radical-democracy. In this talk, Daniel Lopez, presently researching a PhD on Lukács’s ideas, will present a Lukácsian theory of politics based primarily on Lukács’s revolutionary period in the 1920s. This presentation aims to not only to contribute to the recovery of Lukácsian Marxism for a new generation, but to break new ground in understanding his ideas – specifically his critique of the antinomies in bourgeois thought – and their applicability to radical politics.

Supporting material

Add supporting material (slides, programs, etc.)

Reminders

Registration

No

Who is attending?

No one has said they will attend yet.

Will you attend this event?


Let us know so we can notify you of any change of plan.