ABSTRACT
In the preceding chapters, my analysis focused on the concept of reification as manifested in the thought of Karl Marx (alienation, exploitation, and fetishism), Georg Simmel (tragedy of life, culture, and society) and Max Weber (formal rationalization). In this chapter, I demonstrate that the young Lukács was influenced significantly by his illustrious predecessors and explain how he synthesized their different and sometimes contradictory influences in what became the classic formulation of the theory of reification.
