Lukács's Phenomenology of Capitalism

This book offers a radical new interpretation of Georg Lukács'sHistory and Class Consciousness,showing for the first time how the philosophical framework for his analysis of society was laidin the drafts of a philosophy of art that he planned but never completed before he convertedto Marxism. Reading Lukács's work through the so-called "Heidelberg Aesthetics" reveals forthe first time a range of unsuspected influences on his thought, such as Edmund Husserl, EmilLask, and Alois Riegl; it also offers a theory of subjectivity within social relations that avoidsmany of the problems of earlier readings of his text. At a time when Lukács's reputation is oncemore on the rise, this bold new reading helps revitalize his thought in ways that help it speak tocontemporary concerns.