The Theory of 'Entfremdung' in late Lukacs: a Reconstruction from 'Ontology of Social Being'
In the second volume of 'Ontology of the Social Being', Lukács begins the chapter on Entfremdung, characterizing it as “an exclusively historical-social phenomenon”, which assumes “historically always different forms”, depending on the specifics of the historical moment, the mode of production, the society and culture in which it takes place. However, despite the different forms that the phenomenon takes, Lukács analyzes that there is a substantial essence of it, which can be summarized in the following general definition:
“The development of the productive forces is necessarily at the same time the development of human capacities. However – and at this point the problem of Entfremdung concretely comes to light – the development of human capacities does not necessarily entail a development of the human personality. On the contrary: precisely through the increase of individual capacities it can deform, degrade, etc. human personality.”
In other words, Entfremdung can be defined as a social-historical phenomenon that occurs when there is an antagonism between the development of individuals' unique capacities and the development of their personalities, so that the development of the latter is hindered by the development of the former.