György Lukács (born György Bernát Löwinger; 13 April 1885 – 4 June 1971) was an important Hungarian philosopher, literary historian, and literary critic. He is known as one of the founders of Western Marxism. This was a way of thinking about Marxism that was different from the official Soviet ideas.
Lukács created the idea of reification. This means when human qualities or relationships turn into things. He also helped develop Karl Marx‘s idea of class consciousness. This is when people in a certain group understand their shared situation. He was also a philosopher who supported Leninism, which is based on the ideas of Vladimir Lenin.
As a critic, Lukács was very important for his ideas on literary realism. This is a style of writing that shows life as it really is. He also wrote a lot about the novel as a type of literature. In 1919, he became the Hungarian Minister of Culture. This was during the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic.
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