Marxism and modernism : an historical study of Lukács, Brecht, Benjamin, and Adorno

"At a time when modernism and Marxism are both under attack as outmoded, Eugene Lunn's rich and detailed study of the years of their most creative interaction reminds us of the still potent energies unleashed by each. We could ask for no more reliable and judicious guide through the complicated debates generated by the struggle to define a viable Marxist aesthetics in the era of the avant-garde. Lukacs, Brecht, Benjamin and Adorno, four masters of the tradition of Marxist cultural theory and practice, are themselves well-served by a contemporary master of intellectual history." -Martin Jay, University of California, Berkeley "Lunn examines the relations between Marxism and modernism as they appear in the careers of four figures who were representative of diverse orientations and possibilities within each T heir debates and confrontations, both actual and implied, reveal many facets of the modernist movement, and of Marxism as it has developed in the twentieth century. Lunn provides an excellent and valuable account of this important and compelling subject. His book is solidly informed, insightful, imaginative, and thought-provoking." -Jerrold Seigel, American Historical Review "Lunn expertly constructs the major part of his book around two axes, the so-called Brecht-Lukacs debate and the Adorno-Benjamin debate. Even here, however, Lunn manages to compare each member of these two dyads with each of the others, so that a subtle, manysided discussion of contrasts and similarities results All in all, this is an excellent work- to my mind the best condensed treatment of the confrontation between Marxism and modernism that exists in any language." David Gross, Telos "Unerringly intelligent and judicious, the book provides economical accounts of the careers and theories of its chosen critics, places them in historical context, and prefaces them with brief but cogent surveys of Marx's own fragmentary aesthetics and of artistic modernism Marxism and Modernism offers a splendidly wellresearched and amenable study of the most fertile developments in Marxist aesthetics." Terry Eagleton, Journal of Modern History "At a time when modernism and Marxism are both under attack as outmoded, Eugene Lunn's rich and detailed study of the years of their most creative interaction reminds us of the still potent energies unleashed by each. We could ask for no more reliable and judicious guide through the complicated debates generated by the struggle to define a viable Marxist aesthetics in the era of the avant-garde. Lukacs, Brecht, Benjamin and Adorno, four masters of the tradition of Marxist cultural theory and practice, are themselves well-served by a contemporary master of intellectual history."--Martin Jay, University of California, Berkeley"Lunn examines the relations between Marxism and modernism as they appear in the careers of four figures who were representative of diverse orientations and possibilities within each .... Their debates and confrontations, both actual and implied, reveal many facets of the modernist movement, and of Marxism as it has developed in the twentieth century. Lunn provides an excellent and valuable account of this important and compelling subject. His book is solidly informed, insightful, imaginative, and thought-provoking."--Jerrold Seigel, American Historical Review "Lunn expertly constructs the major part of his book around two axes, the so-called Brecht-Lukacs debate and the Adorno-Benjamin debate. Even here, however, Lunn manages to compare each member of these two dyads with each of the others, so that a subtle, many sided discussion of contrasts and similarities results. . . All in all, this is an excellent work--to my mind the best condensed treatment of the confrontation between Marxism and modernism that exists in any language."--David Gross, Telos "Unerringly intelligent and judicious, the book provides economical accounts of the careers and theories of its chosen critics, places them in historical context, and prefaces them with brief but cogent surveys of Marx's own fragmentary aesthetics and of artistic modernism. . . . Marxism and Modernism offers a splendidly well researched and amenable study of the most fertile developments in Marxist aesthetics."--Terry Eagleton, Journal of Modern History Contents 7 Acknowledgments 11 Introduction 13 PART ONE: Traditions 19 1. Art and Society in the Thought of Karl Marx 21 2. Modernism in Comparative Perspective 45 PART TWO: Lukacs and Brecht 85 3. A Debate on Realism and Modernism 87 4. Paths Toward a Marxist Aesthetics 103 5. Stalinism, Nazism, and History 140 PART THREE: Benjamin and Adorno 159 6. Avant-Garde and Culture Industry 161 7. Benjamin and Adorno. The Development of Their Thought 185 8. Marxism Much Revised 227 9. Modernist Alternatives 254 Conclusion 293 Bibliography 301 I. Works Relating to Marx, Marxism, or Marxist Aesthetics 303 II. Works Relating to Modernism in the Arts 307 Ill. Secondary Works Related to the Debates 313 A . The Brecht-Lukacs Debate 313 B . The Benjamin-Adorno Debate 314 IV. Works by Adorno, Benjamin, Brecht, and Lukacs 316 V. Works on Adorno, Benjamin, Brecht, and Lukacs 322 Works on Adorno 322 Works on Benjamin 323 Works on Brecht 326 Works on Lukacs 328 VI. Works on German and European Social, Political, and Cultural History, and Miscellaneous 331 Index 335 marxism,art,modernism Much attention has been directed to the pivotal debates of the 1930s amongst four luminaries of German Marxist culture -- between George Lukacs and Bertolt Brecht, which focused on realism in literature, and between Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno, which dealt with avant-garde and mass culture in capitalist society. "Marxism and Modernism" gives these wide-ranging controversies their most intensive treatment to date, analyzing them in terms of the major challenge to a Marxist aesthetics in this century: the interpretation of the formal and historical meaning, and social value, of cultural modernism. The intellectual developments of each of these four influential writers are examined, along with their responses to fascism and Stalinism, and their varying relations to the many strands of Marxist thought and modernist aesthetics. -- From publisher's description At a time when modernism and Marxism are both under attack as outmoded, this detailed study of the years of their most creative interaction reminds us of the still potent energies unleashed by each. It guides us through the complicated debates generated by the struggle to define a viable Marxist aesthetics in the era of the avant-garde. While emphasizing the central importance of the labor process, Marx viewed reality as the relational field comprising the totality of human experience.