But as attractive as that vision was, Marx’s theory followed a pattern that western philosophy had seen before. It replicated Rousseau. Instead of focusing on the individual, Marxism suggested that the authentic self was at the social level in the form of class. The true emancipation of humankind did not come from personal liberty, it came from the freedom of the group. Those who could perceive this, and its scientific basis, had authentic consciousness. Those who could not were experiencing false consciousness.
