Is Historicism Relativism?—The Distinction between Lukács’ and Leo Strauss’ “Historicism” by Class Consciousness

Abstract

The discussion on the relationship between historicism and historical materialism has always existed in the academic circle. Some theorists believe that there is no qualitative difference between the two, and equate historical materialism with historicism under the concept of “historical determinism”. Others point out that historical materialism transcends historicism and represents a fundamental innovation. These two different views stem from different understandings of historicism, and a key concept behind this distinction is class consciousness. Whether class consciousness is involved or not is the difference between two different types of historicism. By comparing Strauss’ and Lukács’ discussions on historicism, we can better present the importance of class consciousness in distinguishing the two types of historicism.