George Lichtheim (Berlin; 1912 – 1973; London) was a German-born intellectual whose works focused on the history and theory of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

and

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

. The son of the scholar and

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

activist Richard Lichtheim, he defined himself as a socialist and stated in a 1964 letter to ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'' that "I am not a liberal and never have been. I find liberalism almost as boring as communism and have no wish to be drawn into an argument over which of these two antiquated creeds is less likely to advance us any further." His work appeared in the ''Palestine Post'', ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

'', ''

Partisan Review ''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affiliated Joh ...

'', ''

Dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

'', the ''

New Leader ''The New Leader'' (1924–2010) was an American political and cultural magazine. History ''The New Leader'' began in 1924 under a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, such as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It was p ...

'', ''

Encounter Encounter or Encounters may refer to: Film *''Encounter'', a 1997 Indian film by Nimmala Shankar * ''Encounter'' (2013 film), a Bengali film * ''Encounter'' (2018 film), an American sci-fi film * ''Encounter'' (2021 film), a British sci-fi film * ...

'', the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' and ''The New York Review of Books''. He also translated

Gershom Scholem Gershom Scholem () (5 December 1897 – 21 February 1982), was a German-born Israeli philosopher and historian. Widely regarded as the founder of modern academic study of the Kaballah, Scholem was appointed the first professor of Jewish Myst ...

's ''

Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' is a work on the history of the Jewish Kabbalah by Gershom Scholem, published in 1941. Topics In his introduction to ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'', Scholem blames Jewish scholars of the Haskalah period, w ...

''. He committed suicide in Hampstead in 1973.

Selected works

* ''The Pattern of World Conflict'' (1955) * ''Marxism'' (1961) * '' Marxism: An Historical and Critical Study'' (1964) * ''Marxism in Modern France'' (1966) * ''The Concept of Ideology, And Other Essays'' (1967) * ''The Origins of Socialism'' (1969) * '' A Short History of Socialism'' (1970) * ''Lukács'' (

Fontana Modern Masters The Fontana Modern Masters was a series of pocket guides on writers, philosophers, and other thinkers and theorists who shaped the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century. The first five titles were published on 12 January 1970 by Fontana ...

, 1970) * ''Imperialism'' (1971) * ''From Marx to Hegel'' (1971) * ''Europe in the Twentieth Century'' (1972) * ''Thoughts Among the Ruins: Collected essays on Europe and beyond'' (1973)

References

"The Other George: Lichtheim on Imperialism"
''Dissent''.
"A Reply by George Lichtheim"
''The New York Review of Books''.

External links

"A French View of Israel"
(PDF). German socialists Jewish German writers American people of German-Jewish descent 1912 births 1973 suicides 20th-century German male writers 1973 deaths German emigrants to the United States Suicides in Hampstead {{US-writer-stub