Critical Theory

The philosophical and sociological tradition developed by the Frankfurt School — combining Marxist social analysis with Freudian psychology, Hegelian dialectics, and the goal of human emancipation.

Critical Theory as ideology critique: Horkheimer's founding distinction (1937) between 'traditional theory' (which takes existing social forms for granted) and 'critical theory' (which asks whose interests the existing order serves and what would constitute genuine human emancipation) defines the program. Key contributions: the critique of the culture industry (Adorno/Horkheimer), the theory of repressive tolerance (Marcuse), the theory of communicative rationality (Habermas), and the analysis of authoritarian personality. In the contemporary sense, 'critical theory' has been extended to mean any scholarship that analyzes power relations with an emancipatory intent — including critical race theory, queer theory, and feminist theory.