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Traditional and Critical Theory According to Max Horkheimer
Posted
August 10, 2026
Views
906
Likes
95
Comments
13
Engagement
11.92%
August 10, 2026
906
95
13
11.92%
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22:14Now PlayingThe New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 218
The school of thought known as Critical Theory was born, as we understand it today, in an essay written in 1937 by Max Horkheimer, who was director of the infamous Frankfurt School. This definitive essay of Western Marxism makes it clear that what we think of as "theory" is only one side of the story, and it's the side that keeps reproducing our present society. Horkheimer calls this "traditional theory," and we call it "knowing what you're talking about and applying it to make the world a better place." He contrasts it against his own approach to Western Marxist thinking, which he calls "critical theory," which questions the very foundations of the society we inhabit in favor of an alternative we can't even articulate. In this important episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay brings you through some of the text of the first half of this historical essay so you can understand the Critical Theory from its birth, in the words of its own founder. Join him to hear the truth: Critical Theory has always been like this, from the very beginning.
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