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Not so. In fact I took a critical theory class in college (fell under religious studies, rather than political economy, interestingly). The professor started of
by pizza 5y ago
Not so. In fact I took a critical theory class in college (fell under religious studies, rather than political economy, interestingly). The professor started off the class with two things:
1. critical theory is about the study of what makes suffering persist in modern life
2. much of the critical theory works of the twentieth century are about the rise of fascism as well as the reality of the failure of Marxism.
You'd do well to pinpoint the origins of your opinion -- someone fleeced you.
- bitwize 5y agoCritical theory already has an answer for what makes suffering persist in modern life: unjust power structures baked into society at all levels: political, social, economic, epistemological, and psychic. Critical theory is a framework/toolkit for uncovering and exposing those unjust power structures. Furthermore, the failure of Marxism and the rise of fascism are considered to be the same phenomenon. That is why, per Marcuse, only leftists deserved to speak freely: allowing other opinions to the table would only hasten the rise of the next Hitler.
- raxxorrax 5y agoIt is not a good framework for analysis. It can be a tool, but using such an inductive lens can lead to you seeing power structures everywhere where none exist. Marcuse was a victim of fascism and sadly his wounds remained and influenced his texts.
- nikolay 5y agoThere's no excuse for silencing voices, even Nazis ones as every inconvenient voice would be labeled a Nazi one easily! I'd rather know who has Nazis views and who has Marxist ones than live among people like in Iran where truths and genuine opinions are only shared at home. It was the same back in Communist Bulgaria up to 1989, so, please, ask people who've been through such a silencing-for-their-own-good regime - there are plenty of them around the globe!
- raxxorrax 5y agoIn Germany shortly after the Nazi problem we had another dictatorship that was against freedom of expression and severely restricted opinions. They were sure they were the good guys this time... It was very reactionary to nationalism. Adorno and consorts writings are often reactionary too, but they were real victims of fascism. They tried very hard to find an explanation for the reasons of the prosecution and sometimes got carried away. In this context most works are well worth a read. It might even be beneficial to know the works to not conflate their position with those of people that call for more content and opinion control. These people are not innocent, they happily condemn others and have a totalitarian world view. It is just much more difficult to oppose them because they can point to Nazi and declare themselves as opposition.
- nikolay 5y agoWell, I know many victims of Communism in Bulgaria, who were silenced and now support silencing! And I don't get this!