This article explores the trajectory of Alfred Sohn-Rethel’s work within the theoretical horizon of Italian operaismo. It situates the Italian publication of Geistige und körperliche Arbeit (Intellectual and Manual Labour, 1977) in the conjuncture of political Marxism and intellectual debates, tracing the reception and contestation of his categories of Realabstraktion and social synthesis by engaging the interventions of Negri, Preve, Rovatti, and later Virno, the essay highlights both the limits and the productive displacements of Sohn-Rethel’s framework when confronted with operaismo’s emphasis on antagonistic subjectivity and political strategy. It argues that Sohn-Rethel should be understood as a relevant source of the theoretical-political canon of operaismo and Italian post-operaismo.