1937 - Publication of “Traditional and Critical Theory”

Published in 1937 by Max Horkheimer, “Traditional and Critical Theory” helped define the Frankfurt School’s approach to blending Marxist thought with philosophical critique. By contrasting “traditional” theories—seen as detached and purely academic—with “critical” theories aimed at revealing and challenging societal power structures, it laid an intellectual foundation for neo-Marxism’s focus on social transformation rather than mere interpretation.