Lukács’s theory of reification not only incorporates elements of Marxism and Hegelianism but also exhibits a distinct Neo-Kantian orientation. The Neo-Kantian thought of Webster and Simmel constitutes not merely a background influence—as commonly assumed in the literature—but a decisive presupposition and problematic for the formation of Lukács’s theory of reification. Drawing on Neo-Kantian analyses of consciousness and culture, Lukács redeployed the concept of class consciousness to reintegrate Hegel’s concept of dialectics with Marx’s view of history. This not only liberated Marxism from the mechanical economic determinism of the Second International period but also opened up a new theoretical pathway for Western Marxism.