Althusser Goes East: Theoretical (Anti)Humanism, the Lukács School, and the Specter of Stalinism

The chapter examines the reception of Louis Althusser’s ideas in Eastern Europe during the 1960s and 1970s, with particular emphasis on the philosophical and ideological confrontation between Althusser’s theoretical anti-humanism and the prevailing humanist orientation of Eastern European Marxism at the time. It pays particular attention to the position of the Lukács school in Hungary, which, amid the ongoing ideological debate between reformist and orthodox Marxist trends, responded with marked sensitivity to the ideological import of Althusserian ideas. With this context in mind, the chapter also explores how Althusser’s ideas were often interpreted as a continuation or variant of Stalinism and consider the ideological conditions that ultimately hindered the possibility of meaningful philosophical engagement with his work in the region.