Revolutionary Romanticism in the 20th Century. Ernst Bloch, surrealism, situationism, ecosocialism

Abstract

This paper discusses revolutionary romanticism as a worldview that transcends the nineteenth-century literary movement and offers a cultural and political critique of capitalist modernity. This roman­ticism opposes utilitarianism and rationalisation and defends quali­tative and communitarian values. Its twentieth-century expression can be found in figures and movements like Ernst Bloch, surrealism, situatio­nism and eco-socialism. Ernst Bloch’s utopian philosophy, centred on the concept of ‘Not Yet’, proposed a radical critique of capitalism and a harmonious alliance with nature. André Breton’s Surrealism combined social revolution with the re-enchan­tment of the world, rejecting posi­tivism and exploring the imaginary. Guy Debord and Situationism denoun­ced consumer society and idealised pre-modern forms of com­munity, turning nostalgia into a revolutionary tool. Eco-socialism is interpreted as a contemporary utopia inspired by pre-capitalist values and indigenous ways of life, proposing a sustainable civilisation based on solidarity. The paper concludes that revolutionary romanticism persists as a cultural and political framework, linking the past to a utopian future, criticising modernity and inspiring social transformation.