Dialectic and Materialism in Lucacs

In: Telos, Band 11, S. 105-133

Abstract

The rekindled interest in the political thought of Georg Lukacs stems from the concern of the New Left that a new revolutionary strategy is needed during the period of imperialism. The whole trajectory of Lukacs' theoretical development can be seen as an attempt to salvage materialism through the theory of reflection by linking it to a fundamentally incompatible presentation of the dialectic in its Hegelian form. Lukacs retained all of Marx's categories without modification, & attempted to superimpose them upon a partially altered reality, producing a mechanical rather than dialectical analysis. Lukacs' work contributes to the reformulation of Marxism as a "critical theory"--an approach to reality constantly reconstituting itself in terms of the social praxis of which it is an integral moment--against those who portray Marxism as a "science." However, Lukacs' dialectic needs to be reactivated by supplying it with a materialist foundation which will allow an interaction between subject & group, a phenomenology of concept formation, & possibly a functional analysis of social structures. A. Karmen.