The commodity as the universal category
On Lukács, property, and love
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4482156 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Toula Nicolacopoulos (0000-0003-1057-1176, La Trobe University), George Vassilacopoulos (La Trobe University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 157 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 97-109 |
| Publication date | 2020-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Thesis Eleven (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0725-5136 • E-ISSN: 1461-7455 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0725513620911855 |
| OpenAlex | W3016192972 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 1 |
In 'Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat', Lukács analyses the commodity-structure as 'the universal category' that frames society as a whole. Taking seriously the aspiration to follow Marx in going 'to the root of the matter', Lukács examines the ways and extent to which the commodity structure extends into and remoulds society, focusing on living individuals, their needs and relations to things as use values. We propose a reading drawing on the idea of concern-in-indifference, which addresses the complexity of the practice of owning that underpins Lukács's analysis. We argue that attention to this complexity enables us to shine a light on the commodity structure's capacity to conceal, directing us away from Lukács's focus to an appreciation of the significance of the universal category's power to deny a future ethical substantiality of togetherness while giving rise to singular beings for whom this substantiality remains an orienting vision
Aesthetics · Commodity · Consciousness · Economics · Epistemology · Mainstream · Market economy · Performativity · Political science · Politics · Proletariat · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
| Highly cited | No |
|---|