author
György Lukács
1885–1971
A major Marxist thinker and literary critic, he helped shape twentieth-century debates about realism, class consciousness, and the meaning of culture in modern life. His writing still draws readers who want philosophy tied closely to history, politics, and art.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Budapest on April 13, 1885, György Lukács became one of the most influential Marxist philosophers and literary critics of the twentieth century. He is often linked with the rise of Western Marxism, and he is especially known for exploring how modern society can make social relations feel thing-like and distant, a process often discussed through his idea of reification.
Lukács wrote across philosophy, politics, and literature. Among his best-known works are The Theory of the Novel, History and Class Consciousness, and The Historical Novel. He argued strongly for literary realism and for taking art seriously as a way of understanding social life, which made him an important voice not only in Marxist theory but also in modern criticism and aesthetics.
His life was closely tied to the upheavals of twentieth-century Hungary and Europe. He served briefly in the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919, spent years in exile, and later returned to Hungary, where he remained a prominent but sometimes controversial intellectual figure until his death in Budapest on June 4, 1971.