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PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY OR REPRODUCTION OF THE LIFE OF INDIVIDUALS? MAX HORKHEIMER'S CRITIQUE OF GEORG LUKÁCS AND THE REFORMULATION OF MARXISM

Abstract

Max Horkheimer's inquiry into the premises that connect the Lukácsian theory of class consciousness to various aspects of German idealism resulted in critical theory's formulations concerning how capitalist society operates and the way in which it should be examined. In contrast to the texts of Lukács, which ended up turning away from an examination of the historical transformations of the start of the twentieth century and the real situation of working classes, critical theory places at the centre of analysis the individual and concrete factors that led the working classes to accept capitalism domination. To this end, it was essential to reread The German ideology by Marx and Engels. This recuperation of the Marxian text allows us to grasp the fertility of critical theory's analyses, contradicting theses that identify the first phase of critical theory as a philosophy of history.

Keywords:
Critical theory; Marxism; German idealism; transfiguration; class consciousness

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