Marxist Esthetics

by Henri Arvon, Fredric Jameson (Introduction), Helen R. Lane (Translator)

Arvon's civilized & sensible introduction to the potentialities - and the problems - of an esthetic committed to political relevance. Sympathetic to the basic aims of Marxism, Arvon discusses the ideological importance of art and presents a capsule history of socialist art and criticism, from the time of Marx to the perversions of the Stalinist era and beyond.

The author treats at length the ideas of Bertolt Brecht, and of particular interest is his account of the dispute between Brecht and Georg Lukács. A brilliant essay by the noted critic Fredric Jameson introduces the book.

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Henri Arvon (1914 - 1992) is a French writer and historian of ideas. He has written many books on the history of anarchism and the libertarian movement and marxism .

Reviews

[Alishan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool book

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some Stalinist ideological rationalizations. But overall, a compelling history of Marxist's grappling with literature.

[Samrat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting examination of art under profoundly bureaucratic conditions.