The term critical theory is difficult to define. I would characterize it as a neo-Marxist school of philosophy founded by the Frankfurt School in Germany (aka Institute for Social Research, 1923-present) which criticized both Soviet communism and Western liberalism and social democracy. They embraced Marx's 11th These of Feuerbach, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways: the point is to change it.” They were free thinkers. They were unaffiliated with any political parties or regimes, and inspired independent Marxists in the West.
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| Stephen Eric Bronner |
My first unknowing exposure to the critical theory was reading Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse in the 60s, like many young New Leftists. A few years later, I started reading Paul Piccone's journal Telos which imported critical theory to the US wholesale. I was exposed to a rich current of Western Marxism. Some of it I found, and still find, unreadable; some was inspiring. Stephen Eric Bronner calls early Frankfurt works “an Aesopian form of convoluted writing that shielded their radical beliefs” from the German censors of its time.
Stephen Eric Bronner, Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction is a nice survey of Frankfurt School personalities and legacy. Bronner is a distinguished political philosopher at Rutgers University, a prolific author, member of Democratic Socialists of America, and regular panelist at the Left Forum in NYC every year. He has been involved with critical theory throughout his tenure. It appears in his earlier years he was more an enthusiast- studying with Ernst Bloch in Germany and collaborating with Douglas Kellner on Marcuse and critical theory. Bloch and Marcuse were both prominent members of the Frankfurt School for many years. In his later years Bronner identifies some of the limitations of critical theory. He is not a salon Marxist. He is an international human rights activist, biographer of Rosa Luxemburg, and defender of the Enlightenment traditions. His best known book Reclaiming the Enlightenment: Toward a Politics of Radical Engagement (2004) defends cosmopolitanism, secularism, science, civil liberties, and limits on state power. Bronner feels the Frankfurt School did not appreciate the virulence of the counter-Enlightenment we still face today- ie religious fundamentalism, bigotry, Tea Party, et al. These bear a disturbing resemblance to fascism in the 30s. Director of the Frankfurt School Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno blamed the rise of class society, racism, and the Holocaust on the scientific rationalism of the Enlightenment. By the 50s Horkheimer was opposing the liberation struggles in Algeria and Vietnam, and later the student movement in the 60s. On the other hand Herbert Marcuse's Marxist humanism was embraced by parts of the New Left, and sees a revival today. My friend Arnold Farr, now philosophy professor at the University of Kentucky, founded the International Herbert Marcuse Society in 2005, leads the way. With the decline of the New Left, critical theory has retreated to academia, for now.
As a libertarian socialist, I am still most attracted to Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse's work although I haven't read either for many years. “So many books, so little time.” I am also interested in economist Henryk Grossman and philosopher Karl Korsch who were involved in the Frankfurt School in the 20s. Both participated in the workers' council movement 1918-1921 in Germany and Austria. Grossman argued the Marxian case for the declining rate of profit in the left communist press in the 30s. Korsch wrote essays What is Socialization? (1919) and Fundamentals of Socialization (1922) which describes basically a syndicalist blueprint for a socialist economy. The unsuccessful German revolution and the Russian Revolution are now almost 100 years old, ancient history. We have achieved a fragile welfare state in Europe and US in the last century. Socialism is still a utopian dream.
Korsch, Karl. Revolutionary Theory. Ed. by Douglas Kellner. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1974.
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