István Mészáros

Istvan Meszaros, one of the most prominent Marxists of our time, was born in Budapest in 1930. After completing his high school education, he earned a scholarship to the University of Budapest and ranked first at Eomnos College. Six months later, there was an attempt to expel him for publicly defending Lukács against Party attacks. A graduate of the University of Budapest, Meszaros completed his doctoral thesis under the supervision of Lukács in 1954. In 1951, he was appointed as Lukács's assistant and later became an associate professor at the Institute of Aesthetics at the University of Budapest. In 1956, Lukács named Meszaros as his successor and asked him to take over the Aesthetics course, which he taught until he left his country. From 1950 to 1956, Meszaros actively participated in cultural and literary debates, always siding with those who supported an authentic socialist development. He served as the editor of the "Quarterly" of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and as the chief editor of the magazine "Estinelet." He left his country after the second Soviet intervention in 1956, having been convinced that the system could not be reformed. Since then, Meszaros has taught at the University of Turin, Bedford College at the University of London, and later at Sussex. He is currently an emeritus professor at the University of Sussex and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Through his extensive theoretical work, Meszaros defended and developed Marxist philosophy, particularly the Marxist analysis of history. His contribution to the development of the Marxist theory of ideologies is also significant. His latest monumental book, "Beyond Capital," serves as a continuation of Marx's "Capital," as it thoroughly explores the trajectory and contradictions of contemporary capitalism and the potential for the revival of the labor and communist movements. Meszaros's books are available in the major European languages and have also been translated in Latin America, Persia, and India. In Greece, Meszaros is known for his book "Marx's Theory of Alienation" (Rappa, 1973), his contributions to the theoretical journal "Utopia," and the special issue dedicated to his work in the same journal (issue 37, 1999). "Socialism or Barbarism" has been translated into many languages, from Mexico and Brazil to major European countries, as well as Persia and India.