Introduction to critical theory Book

Critical Theory arises out of the disillusionment of several Western Marxists on the failure of proletarian revolution to occur in Western industrialized states. And so it turns out that Karl Marx's prophecy of the inevitable collapse of Western capitalism simply didn't come true. Therefore, these Western Marxists feel the need to reevaluate Marxism and examine on how the capitalist system managed to survive in defiance to Marx's prediction.

I found David Held's introduction to thinkers such as Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse and Habermas as illuminating in highlighting their similarities and differences. The term Frankfurt School itself is not a homogeous school of thought; it is composed of varying opinions with similar goal: that of making Marxist thoughts relevant to the contemporary (1930s-1970s) situation.


I'm not a Marxist, but I'm attracted to the Frankfurt School's critique of contemporary popular culture, in which I believe as being relevant in my country. And I found the School's assertion that reality is historically rooted (and hence, subjected to change by active critiquing and agency) to be highly fascinating. But you won't find any set of doctrine on how to change society from them. The Frankfurt School does not provide us with easy answers.

I won't rate this book because there are parts of it that are still beyond my comprehension, such as most of Habermas's ideas. I shall return to it later for a second (or third, or fourth) reading.

Although the book is supposed to be an Introduction, a basic knowledge of Marxism (or Sociology and Philosophy in general) is required for a more thorough enjoyment of this book.