The Frankfurt School : the crisis of subjectivity and the problem of social change
The crisis of subjectivity and the problem of social change is the underground history of the European Revolution of 1917-23. Its final signal in the inter-war years came with the defeat of the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War in the years preceding the Second World War. The defeats of progressive social forces in the inter-war years, leading to the catastrophe of the Second World War and the Holocaust brought the original Western Marxists into a socio-political terrain involving new developments and unexpected setbacks in the struggle for a rational society (socialism). Stalinism and Fascism blocked the route to socialist democracy on an international scale. In the dialectic of hope and despair the Second World War can be understood as representing the great terminus of accumulated defeats of the working class internationally in the inter-war period. For the Frankfurt School the Second World War was not only the lowest point humanity had reached at the height of technical progress, the sheer technological efficiency of the destructiveness it unleashed seemed to foreclose any impetus for optimism. Hope and despair, progress and reaction, became increasingly intertwined and at times impossible to
Maddox, Christopher Guy
Philosophy ; Religion ; Sociology ; Human services ; History
The Frankfurt School : the crisis of subjectivity and the problem of social change. The crisis of subjectivity and the problem of social change is the underground history of the European Revolution of 1917-23. Its final signal in the inter-war years came with the defeat of the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War in the years preceding the Second World War. The defeats of progressive social forces in the inter-war years, leading to the catastrophe of the Second World War and the Holocaust brought the original Western Marxists into a socio-political terrain involving new developments and unexpected setbacks in the struggle for a rational society (socialism). Stalinism and Fascism blocked the route to socialist democracy on an international scale. In the dialectic of hope and despair the Second World War can be understood as representing the great terminus of accumulated defeats of the working class internationally in the inter-war period. For the Frankfurt School the Second World War was not only the lowest point humanity had reached at the height of technical progress, the sheer technological efficiency of the destructiveness it unleashed seemed to foreclose any impetus for optimism. Hope and despair, progress and reaction, became increasingly intertwined and at times impossible to
frankfurt_school crisis subjectivity problem social_change crisis subjectivity problem social_change underground history european revolution final signal come defeat republican force spanish civil war years precede second_world_war defeat progressive social force_lead catastrophe second_world_war holocaust bring original western socio_political terrain involve new development unexpected struggle rational society socialism fascism block route socialist democracy international scale dialectic hope despair second_world_war understood represent great accumulate defeat work_class internationally inter_war_period frankfurt_school second_world_war low point humanity reach height technical progress sheer technological efficiency seem impetus optimism hope despair progress reaction become_increasingly intertwine time impossible