Lukács and the Marxist ›Living Art

This essay draws a line of continuity linking Lukács’ early work to his later ›official‹ role as a communist intellectual. Soul and Form (Die Seele und die Formen) is not read as an expression of Lukács’ early idealism. Rather, the book bears witness to a much more complex vision. Soul and Form may be read as the first surprising movement in Lukács’ impending conversion to his peculiar materialism. Literature and art ceaselessly struggle for freedom and autonomy from any, either religious or political, function. Yet at the same time, there is a philosophical awareness that forms can be created, and indeed used, as cultural tools to shape both individual and collective lives.