ABSTRACT
The problem of ideology and of false consciousness is the central theme of Mannheim's thought. Ideology and Utopia is one of the rare Marxist works dedicated entirely to the problem of false consciousness. Seen in the light of Mannheim's exegesis, the ideology of German conservatism appears as diametrically opposed to that of racist ethno-centricity, which is based on a reified and impersonalizing vision of the discriminated outgroup. Mannheim posits three levels of interpretation: objective, subjective, and documentary meanings. The concept of documentary meaning has been recently adopted by the ethno-methodical school of Garfinkel. Mannheim focuses on the ideology of German conservatism, which is his best work according to Raymond Aron and the most disconcerting one for a Marxist reader. Mannheim shows that the worldview of German conservatism implies some genuine dialectical elements as a defensive reaction against the reified rationalism of the bourgeoisie: life opposed to concepts, a taste for individualism and for historicism.
