Reinhard Opitz (2 July 1934,

Beuthen Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capita ...

Province of Upper Silesia The Province of Upper Silesia (german: Provinz Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Oberschläsing''; szl, Prowincyjŏ Gōrny Ślōnsk; pl, Prowincja Górny Śląsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprise ...

– 3 April 1986) was a German

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

and social scientist whose best-known

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

postulates that members of the German middle class had acquired a "falsified"

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

. A prolific writer and theorist, Opitz, who had a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, spent the greater part of his working life on the fringes of political movements. While the majority of his writings forcefully argue the correctness of finer points in the works of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

, his most widely remembered personal contribution to Marxist theory was the "falsified" consciousness position. The completed essay, entitled ''On Genesis and Prevention of

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

'', appeared in the autumn 1974 issue of the leftist German academic publication ''Das Argument''. Reinhard Opitz died of cancer in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, where he had lived for twenty years. He was 51 years old. In 1999, thirteen years after his death, Rainer Rilling and Ilina Fach published ''Liberalism—Fascism—Integration'' (), a three-volume edition (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 1490 pages) of the most relevant pieces Opitz had written and published.

References

Extensive German essay (with an English-language introduction) examining Opitz's legacy and the cogency of his philosophical views on the 30th anniversary of the 1974 publication of ''On Genesis and Prevention of Fascism''

External links

Reinhard Opitz in the German National Library Catalogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opitz, Reinhard 1934 births 1986 deaths People from Bytom People from the Province of Upper Silesia German Peace Union politicians German Peace Society members Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund members Marxist theorists German political philosophers German philosophers German political scientists 20th-century political scientists