The Breakdown of Administered Consciousness. On the ‘Idealist Core’ in the Thought of H. Marcuse

Abstract

The three sections of this article consider the influence and presence of idealist elements in Herbert Marcuse's thought. The reception of the German idealist tradition, especially Hegel and his left-wing disciples, can be seen as a constant throughout his work. Still, it gained ascendancy over the years, especially in the last decade of his intellectual trajectory. It is argued that this idealistic deviation from materialism must be understood in the context of the socio-economic and psychological transformations from liberal to postliberal capitalism. Against the background of the Hegelian notion of ‘Idea’, the first point analyzes the various readings of Hegel's work in the successive stages of his thought. The second point deals with the problem of the reification of consciousness and its emancipation. Finally, the Spirit-mass dichotomy is discussed concerning the search for new historical agents and the dangers, which Marcuse did not always avoid, of vanguardism and elitism.