Preve’s Uses of Lukács: Rethinking a Marxian Tradition

Abstract

This essay examines Costanzo Preve’s uses of György Lukács’ Ontology of Social Being and related writings from the same period as both provocations and, to some extent, foundations for Preve’s project of the deduzione storico–sociale delle categorie (historical–social deduction of categories), which Preve named ontologia dell’essere sociale (ontology of social being). This essay shows how Preve’s discussion of Lukács and his work changes from La filosofia imperfetta to Una nuova storia alternativa della filosofia and how, in several respects, at the conclusion of their lives and reflections Preve and Lukács are on opposite trajectories as regard the understanding and evaluation of the idealism–materialism continuum. Both thinkers share the urgency and need of a rethinking and refoundation of the Marxian tradition, one which needs to address many aspects of social reproduction beyond the economic.