Marek Siemek as a Hegelian. Between Marx and Lukács

Abstract

In our article we discuss the Hegelian reading of Marxism put forward by the famous Polish philosopher Marek Siemek. He exposed the deep but often unrealized dependence of Marxism upon Hegelian thought. This is particularly true with regard to Marxism’s attempts to develop a theory of philosophical self-knowledge. For Siemek, this philosophical dimension of Marxism is manifested in a dialectical critique of ideology, which then develops into a mature critique of political economy. The conceptual matrix of historical materialism is in turn fully utilized in the work of György Lukács, who for Siemek was the perfect example of ‘Marxist philosopher’, with all the ambiguities that this term entails. By analyzing these issues, we will also identify an evolution in Siemek’s own thought: from Lukácsian/Hegelian Marxism to ‘transcendental social philosophy’ indebted to Habermasian communicative rationality. His transformation raises a question: does the dialectical Hegelian Marxist tradition lead, in its very conceptual structure – with the primacy of mediation, to the practical outcome of moderate social democratic policy, rather than revolutionary communism? Therefore, in our conclusion we would like to reconsider the possible internal limitations of this philosophical approach in the context of social praxis.