Frankfurt School
 Frankfurt School    | |
|---|---|
| Interests | • horseshoe theory •  totalitarianism•  cultural Marxism |
| Membership | • Max Horkheimer • Theodor Adorno • Walter Benjamin • Erich Fromm • Wilhelm Reich • Herbert Marcuse •  Jürgen Habermas•  Raymond Aron |
| School of thought in sociology and critical theory. Dissatisfied with the Soviet model and skeptical of capitalist democracy, they argued that culture - not class - was the real battlefield. The founders often worked with the CIA. | |
The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. Dissatisfied with the Soviet model and skeptical of capitalist democracy, they argued that culture - not class - was the real battlefield. Along with French postmodernism, it has been source for many of the theories labeled "cultural Marxism".[1]
Contents
History
It is associated with the Institute for Social Research founded on February 3rd 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main. Formed during the Weimar Republic during the European interwar period, the first generation of the Frankfurt School was composed of intellectuals, academics, and political dissidents dissatisfied with the socio-economic systems of the 1930s: namely, capitalism, fascism, and communism.[2]
Since many of those active at the institute were Jewish, and moreover espoused radical political positions, from 1934 to 1950, many members of the Frankfurt School were active in the United States.[2]
After Adorno and Horkheimer's return from emigration to Frankfurt in 1950, the Frankfurt School gained great importance for the 1968 movement and strongly influenced parts of German academic sociology in the direction of critical theory.[2]
The Paris branch of the Institute for Social Research closely collaborated with Raymond Aron, who was in charge of overseeing which work was appropriate for a French audience.[3]
CIA
According to Gabriel Rockhill, Horkheimer participated in at least one junket organized by the Congress for Cultural Freedom. Theodore Adorno published in the CIA-funded journal Der Monat, the largest review of its kind in Europe and the model for many of the Agency's other publications. His articles appeared, as well, in two other CIA magazines: Encounter and Tempo presente. He also hosted in his home, corresponded and collaborated with the CIA operative who was arguably the leading figure in the German anticommunist Kulturkampf: Melvin Lasky. Lasky told Adorno that he was open to every form of collaboration with the Institute for Social Research, including publishing their articles and any other declaration as quickly as possible in his pages.[3]
The school received full support when it moved back to Germany after the war. When CIA officer Shepard Stone was director of public affairs for the High Commission for Occupied Germany in the 1940s, he sent a personal note to the U.S. State Department to encourage it to extend Adorno's passport: "The Institute of Frankfurt is helping to train German leaders who will know something of democratic techniques. I believe it is important for our over-all democratic objectives in Germany that such men as Professor Adorno have an opportunity to work in that country."[3]
Known members
3 of the 8 of the members already have pages here:
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| Raymond Aron | French sociologist who attended 3 Bilderbergs from 1957 to 1966 |
| Jürgen Habermas | German philosopher and sociologist. |
| Herbert Marcuse | Associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. |
