Lukacs: Part I

Currently Reading: The Footnote: A Curious History Anthony Grafton
History and Class Consciousness Georges Lukacs: "What is Orthodox Marxism?"; "Class Consciousness"

Just Finished: "Catastrophe" Samuel Beckett

The first piece by Lukacs defines Orthodox Marxism by examining its foundational beliefs and mechanisms. If I'm not guarded enough, I default to questioning why I should care what Orthodox Marxism is. I'm hesitant to approach any works I read with any more dedication than that of a layperson because scholasticism requires commitment and commitment is scary. From a layman's perspective, an essay on Orthodox Marxism is much too nuanced a work. A Wikipedia entry on Marxism or an introductory pamphlet on Marxism seems like much safer territory for reasons that are obvious to me and too convoluted to try to spell out. But I suppose the feeling of treading treacherous intellectual waters is healthy and indicative of being headed in the right direction.

"The Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it."
-Marx: Theses on Feuerbach

According to Section 1, Orthodox Marxism is not uncritical acceptance of the results of Marx's investigation but is an adherence to method; the belief that dialectical materialism is the road to truth and that its founders outlined an adequate framework by which to develop, explore and further its methods.

For Marx, the theoretical is only effective in as much as it results in revolutionary historical change. Thus, his development of a dialectic that is innately revolutionary. For a materialist dialectic to perform its revolutionary function i.e., in order for theory to unite with practice, the proletariat must be allowed to become both the subject and the object of knowledge i.e., social development must reach a point when understanding society as a whole comes about by understanding itself. This emergence of consciousness is the decisive step in order for the world to actualize the dream it has always possessed.

At this point, four paragraphs in, I have a few questions that I hope I can answer as the essay develops:

1. What is this dream that the world has always subconsciously possessed?
2. What conditions would have to exist so that the proletariat's self-awareness eventually leads to an understanding of society as a whole and subsequent revolution?
3. By understand, does he mean objectively comprehend or attach value judgements in accordance with Marxist beliefs?
   
4. Does this apply to all classes or must the exploited class become self-aware before revolution can occur?
5. What does the method of dialectical materialism entail?
6. Can one really objectively state that the proletariat are exploited? Is this not an interpretation just as valid as the bourgeoisie's belief that class relations are a manifestation of natural law?
7. What is the fundamental difference between a dialectical materialism and formal dualism? What is at stake as a result?