CONCIENCIA Y LUCHA DE CLASES ENTRE LUKÁCS Y ŽIŽEK CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS AND CLASS STRUGGLE IN LUKÁCS AND ŽIŽEK

This paper analyses György Lukács’ interpretation of the concept of ‘class consciousness’ in the light of Slavoj Žižek’s reflections on ‘class struggle’. Against the widespread assumption that Western societies have entered in a ‘post-political’ era, this paper aims to highlight how the conflict between labour and capital is still relevant to understand the contemporary dynamics of globalized capitalism. Class struggle, it is argued, is inherent to the modern capitalist world. The process of acquisition of class consciousness by the proletariat, an essential element of class struggle, is however constantly hindered by hegemonic classes through the smokescreen of populism. Thus, Žižek’s approach to ‘class struggle’ is discussed as a potentially successful means to the construction of a new revolutionary subject.