Critique of Everyday Life 2

Following the introductory first volume of his three-volume work, which focuses on the critique of everyday life—a realm where power relations, commodity fetishism, and alienation are reproduced daily, yet which remains the true foundation for change and revolutions—Henri Lefebvre, in this second volume titled "Foundations of a Sociology of Everyday Life," addresses the methods and theoretical categories necessary to examine the subject.

Discussing concepts such as needs and desire, dream and reality, Lefebvre states that people shatter the boundaries of everyday life only in moments of revolution, bringing their experiences onto the stage of history. However, he argues that outside of these moments where history and experience align, everyday life closes in on itself. "Therefore, shall we define everyday life as the short side of life, a humble and repulsive element?" asks the thinker, pursuing a more holistic perspective, engaging in debates with "fragmented sciences," philosophers, historians, structuralists, culturalists, and political scientists of his time. With this work, in which he vitalizes issues such as alienation and fetishism, Lefebvre not only places everyday life at the center of theory but also critiques the fragmented understandings of these disciplines through it. Lefebvre's theory, which has garnered more attention today for placing the problem of space and the city at the center of radical politics and social sciences, as well as the thoughts and critiques influential in the '68 Movement, can also be traced here.