Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche: Or the Realm of Shadows

Lefebvre argues here that the modern world we live in is bounded by the philosophies of Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche. Separately, these philosophies are incomplete and partially applicable to the reality we see today. But, taken together, can be seen as an almost inescapable philosophical penumbra which we all operate under. Today one can see easily that they are the Hegelian subject, the Marxist class identity, and the Nietzschean body, all at once and seemingly unavoidably. This shadow realm is bounded up with the State, with Capital, and with Will. Yet there is light beyond this, Lefebvre insists. Beyond the realm of shadows is the possibility of the production of space, and of a “double breakthrough,” of both the objective and subjective worlds – of a world not as political, as ideational, but as a truly social and poetic space.

This is a deep and deftly woven discussion of, in Lefebvre's estimation, the three most unavoidably important philosophers of our contemporary era. His reading of Nietzsche is regarded as particularly influential, being one of the earliest “leftist” interpretations. He makes a point to note, in this book, his disagreement with Lukács, whose critique of Nietzsche from the left is quite harsh. However, it was his section on Hegel here that I personally found most interesting and informative. All in all this is an amazing and engaging work that I recommend to anyone remotely interested in Philosophy.