The Frankfurt School: History, Exile, and the Foundations of Critical Theory

Introduction to the Frankfurt School

The Institute for Social Research, the birthplace of the German Frankfurt School, was founded by Max Horkheimer. He was subsequently joined by Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse (who contributed concepts from Freudian psychoanalysis) and Theodor Adorno.

Origins and Exile (1922–1945)

After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, the School was forced to relocate to the United States, finding refuge at Columbia University. Once in the United States, contact with the capitalist power par excellence decisively influenced the members of the School. This experience emphasized their criticism of the capitalist system, particularly concerning the alienation of the individual. The American stage of the Frankfurt School also included the significant influence of American sociology.

Post-War Return and the Second Generation

After 1945, the Institute returned to Frankfurt. In 1956, Jürgen Habermas joined the Frankfurt School; he is considered the principal representative of Critical Theory after the deaths of Adorno and Horkheimer. Although the philosophers named above belong to the group called the Frankfurt School, the differences between them are remarkable in some aspects.

In short, Critical Theory is a response to the criticisms Marxism received due to its poor implementation in policy and analysis. It functions as a theory synthesizing the social contributions of Marx, Freud, and Hegel.

Defining Critical Theory

Critical Theory is a critical-dialectical, historical, and negative method focused on what exists (examining what "is" versus what "should be"). It is the result of social research carried out by the Frankfurt School since 1922.

Core Focus and Influences

The central issue investigated by Critical Theory is the structure of society and, especially, the principles of collective dominance. To understand the direction and dynamics of bourgeois society, which is organized through the capitalist economic system, Critical Theory links economic, historical, psychological, and cultural factors. This type of analysis requires Critical Theory to incorporate three major critical authors who preceded the Frankfurt School: Hegel, Marx, and Freud.

Integrating Precursors

Critical Theory incorporates Marx's critique of capitalism but reviews certain aspects of Marxist political implementation. This review was necessary because communism, in certain countries, had become a dogmatic ideology supporting totalitarianism. Furthermore, the theory draws on aspects of Freudian psychoanalysis related to society and utilizes Hegel's emphasis on the importance of reason in social analysis.

Key Characteristics of Critical Theory

The following can be listed as features of Critical Theory:

• It emerged to promote a theory of society as a whole, functioning as a critical theory (influenced by Kant) capable of highlighting the fundamental contradiction of bourgeois society: the capitalist exploitation of workers.
• It pursues the rational organization of human activity as a critique of bourgeois industrial society, which ignores the individual, their freedom, and their creativity.