Persons as 'Symbols' and 'Carriers': Two Modes of Imagining the Individual and Society in the Nineteenth Century

In his mature systematic writings, Karl Marx pointedly restricted the discussion of individuals as such. Instead of discussing individual characters, motivations, or desires, Marx treats people as ‘carriers’ ( Träger) of social relations. This essay contrasts this functional or structural approach to the Romantic socialism of Pierre Leroux, who conceptualized the individual in the symbolic terms defined by Romantic aesthetics. Though Marx’s reduction of individuals to their social function played a valuable role in the development of his analysis of political economy, it has produced controversy across many decades and presented problems for the political project defined by Marxism. The Romantic conception of a symbolic intersection between the individual and society does not present a fully satisfying alternative to Marx, but this essay argues that it provides an important corrective to the conception of persons as carriers of social relations.