Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction by Stephen Eric Bronner

Author:Stephen Eric Bronner [Bronner, Stephen Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Philosophy, Criticism, Movements, Critical Theory, Social, General
ISBN: 9780190692681
Google: EMU2DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017-09-22T20:32:41+00:00

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Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno intended to confront the limits of the Enlightenment from the standpoint of enlightenment itself. Their point of departure was the erosion of autonomy. Progress is seen by them as generating barbarism and the critique of capitalism is situated within a broader “anthropology of domination.” Their undertaking stands squarely within the dialectical tradition of Marxism. But the positive moment underpinning their critique never becomes concrete or clear. Because the whole is false, and mediations are never introduced, critical theory becomes compelled to consider negation as its guiding principle. The totally administered society is a product of teleology in reverse. Reification is creeping into every crevice of society and instrumental rationality, wherever it appears, is evincing yet another form of domination. Horkheimer and Adorno provide no criteria for drawing distinctions. For them, the basic situation is obvious: instrumental rationality is the problem, the commodity form is the culprit, and the culture industry is the enemy. There is no alternative. There is only an ongoing resistance waged in the name of an always elusive, if supposedly genuine, experience of individuality.

Dialectic of Enlightenment was intended to have a sequel. Its authors might have felt that they had gone too far. Horkheimer had hopes for a “positive dialectical doctrine which has not yet been written.” The Enlightenment seemed to require rescuing or reclaiming. But that never came to fruition. There is much debate regarding why not. Some look to the fragmentary organization of the work—its use of aphorisms, montage, and its anti-systemic character. Others highlight the authors’ intellectual investment in negation. Still others point to their break with the Left and their fear of political engagement. Yet, there might be a different reason. Its authors might simply have found it impossible to offer a “positive dialectical doctrine”—because they no longer had anything “positive” to say.

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