Tides of History

It is interesting to follow the great tides of history, although it is not always easy to understand them. Today, critical theory is all in the news. It has a lot to do with Marx -- except that critical theory draws the lines quite differently to Marx. He drew the line between the classes. The Frankfurt School began a new project in the 1930's. They were disappointed in many ways -- however, they said let's press ahead in those areas where it works. Marcuse belonged to the Frankfurt School, and he explained it quite well. The bottom line is, as with Marx, it was and is a utopian movement -- or optimistic, if one prefers. Utopianism has always been in the veins of Americans, and so one finds it very influential there.