The commodity is me

Reification and alienation in contemporary capitalism

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of the concept of reification in contemporary capitalism, revisiting Georg Lukács’ critique in History and Class Consciousness (1923) to analyze how commodity logic has permeated new spheres of human life in the 21st century. Drawing on the Hegelian premise that philosophy grasps historical processes only once they reach maturity, the text posits that digital capitalism has intensified alienation, transforming not only labor and social relations but also subjectivity and identity into tradable commodities. Through a critical-theoretical lens, the study explores how digital platforms, algorithms, and social media reconfigure individuals into products within data and attention markets, exacerbating social fragmentation and the internalization of self-exploitation. The article argues that under this dynamic, reification no longer confines itself to the workplace but colonizes intimacy, reducing affective bonds to quantifiable, optimized interactions. In response, it revives Lukács’ thesis on class struggle as the sole means to dismantle capitalist structures. While bourgeois ideology naturalizes total commodification, the revolutionary praxis of the proletariat—understood as conscious collective action—remains the pathway to reclaim historical agency and transcend alienation. The analysis concludes that resisting algorithmic capitalism demands moving beyond individual critique to forge a political project contending both the material and symbolic production of reality.