Enlightenment and Marxism

historiographies and contemporary dialogues

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between the Enlightenment and Marxism through three main axes: (1) the reception of the Enlightenment in Marxist historiography; (2) historiographical interpretations of the Enlightenment in light of Marx and Engels; and (3) their own reflections on its legacy. Drawing on key authors from both classical and contemporary historiography, it examines the problem of the relationship between the Enlightenment and the bourgeoisie, as well as the connections between Rousseau and Marx. It is argued that part of the historiography inspired by Marx relied on a theory of modernization that is now contested and often adopted a one-sided view of the eighteenth-century bourgeoisie. Finally, it analyzes how Marx and Engels themselves addressed the contradictions they attributed to the Enlightenment. By comparing classical historiography with recent approaches, the study highlights the complexity of Marx and Engels’ analyses, whose multifaceted interpretations of the Enlightenment not only surpass, in sophistication, much of subsequent Marxist scholarship, but also – contrary to what unfounded criticisms suggest – offer a significant contribution to the history of ideas.