Onwards and upwards to the kingdom of beauty and love. Herbert Marcuse’s trajectory to socialism

Abstract

Socialists today can learn from Marcuse. Starting from this premise this paper discusses and elaborates on Herbert Marcuse’s trajectory to socialism. Marcuse successfully eluded the trap of “economism”, and turned to subjectivity in search of a socialist solution. The transition to socialism is possible through the creation of new anthropology expressed through the concept of “new sensibility”. The prototype of a new socialist human is an anti-superman. Peace and beauty are important characteristics of Marcuse’s socialism. “Libertarian socialism”, “feminist socialism”, “integral socialism”, “socialist humanism”, “socialism as the work of art”, and “utopian socialism” are all terms that testify to Marcuse’s open and many-faceted understanding of socialism in all of its complexity of meanings. Some of those meanings can inform debates on future prospects of socialism.

Keywords

• marcuse
• critical theory
• socialism
• communism
• feminism
• left
• marxism
• ussr