In 1923 the Hungarian philosopher Georg Lukács publishes History and Class Consciousness in Berlin: essays arguing that orthodox Marxism lies in method, not conclusions, and naming reification, the commodity form become universal, as the central structure of capitalist consciousness. The book, condemned by the Comintern, founds what will be called Western Marxism.
Tagged: Marxism
The Event
- Date
- 1923 (exact)
- Era
- Revolution and Western Marxism; Standard periodization of Marxist history
- Location
- Berlin; today Berlin, Germany
- Traditions
- Marxism
- Streams
- Marxism
- Key figures
- Georg Lukács
- Key texts
- History and Class Consciousness
Primary Sources
- Lukács, Georg. Geschichte und Klassenbewusstsein. Berlin: Malik, 1923.
Secondary Sources
- Anderson, Perry. Considerations on Western Marxism. London: New Left Books, 1976.
- Kolakowski, Leszek. Main Currents of Marxism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978.
- McLellan, David. Karl Marx: A Biography. London: Palgrave Macmillan, fourth edition, 2006.
Provenance: HIST-1459; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-30.
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World View
Marxism
Marxism explains history as the struggle of classes over material production, and aims at a classless society in which exploitation and alienation are ended.