ABSTRACT
The concept of false consciousness occupies a unique place in Marxist theory, although it is still rarely used by Marxists and, unlike the theory of allenation, is just beginning to infiltrate non-Marxist intellectual life. The concept of utopia has been characterized by its ambiguity; both its negative and positive role have been subject to debate. As an example of the ambiguity of the concept of “utopia,” the traditional designation by Thomas More could prove useful. He is generally considered to be the first and model utopian, whereas Karl Marx is considered to be a “futurologist.” The category of false consciousness does not belong to the surrealist conception of utopia represented by the writings of Bloch and Mannheim. The dialectical category of totality is allen to the utopian mentality that mechanically juxtaposes incompatible assertions linked by the common denominator of their positive valuation.
