attention all gamers: no purp, but another dumb thread
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The Meaning of Life
Critical Theory
by Stephen Eric BronnerQuote
Critical theory emerged in the 1920s from the work of the Frankfurt School, the circle of German-Jewish academics who sought to diagnose-and, if at all possible, cure-the ills of society, particularly fascism and capitalism. In this book, Stephen Eric Bronner provides sketches of leading representatives of the critical tradition (such as George Lukács and Ernst Bloch, Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse and Jurgen Habermas) as well as many of its seminal texts and empirical investigations.
This Very Short Introduction sheds light on the cluster of concepts and themes that set critical theory apart from its more traditional philosophical competitors. Bronner explains and discusses concepts such as method and agency, alienation and reification, the culture industry and repressive tolerance, non-identity and utopia. He argues for the introduction of new categories and perspectives for illuminating the obstacles to progressive change and focusing upon hidden transformative possibilities. In this newly updated second edition, Bronner targets new academic interests, broadens his argument, and adapts it to a global society amid the resurgence of right-wing politics and neo-fascist movements.
My hot take: bunch of elites rant about how much they hate modernity (the old modernity, but also current modernity I imagine) and ask questions like: why did the stupid fat useless proletariat not bring about the promised marxist revolution; who should take their place (minorities and women apparently); why liberalism, fascism, and communism are all equally shit; how the enlightenment was a mistake; and utopian ideals, oppressive mass culture, and how to liberate humanity from the stupid bureaucracy that is ever-present.
I enjoyed it quite a lot. A few of the books I've read have spoken in detail of 'critical theory' and have referenced some of the Frankfurt school thinkers who have had an influence in current ideological movements. The last chapter discussed critical theory in the modern age offered critique on how it falls short and misses the mark. Would recommend to my fellow gaymers interested in the subject of politics today.
Quote
Postcolonial heirs to critical theory transitioned from economic and political in a shift from Marx and Gramsci to Nietzsche and Heidegger, if not Foucault and Derrida, in what could be called Romantic anti-imperialism... [which leaves] culture homogenized and hanging in the abstract.
This post was edited by Jupe on May 15 2024 07:25am