Adorno, foucault and the critique of the west : adorno, foucault and the critique of the west

The alliance of critical theory between Frankfurt and Paris Adorno, Foucault, and the Critique of the West argues that critical theory continues to offer valuable resources for critique and contestation during this turbulent period in our history. To assess these resources, it examines the work of two of the twentieth centurys more prominent social theorists: Theodor W. Adorno and Michel Foucault. Although Adorno was situated squarely in the Marxist tradition that Foucault would occasionally challenge, Cook demonstrates that their critiques of our current predicament are complementary in important respects. Among other things, they converge in their focus on the historical conditionseconomic in Adorno and political in Foucaultthat gave rise to the racist and authoritarian tendencies that continue to blight the West. But this book will also show that as Adorno and Foucault plumb the economic and political forces that have shaped our identities, they offer remarkably similar answers to the perennial question: What is to be done? One Of The German-speaking World's Leading Young Sociologists Lays Out Modern Germany's Social And Political Crisis And Its Implications For The Future Of The European Hegemon. Upward Social Mobility Represented A Core Promise Of Life Under The Old West German Welfare State, In Which Millions Of Skilled Workers Upgraded Their Vws To Audis, Bought Their First Homes, And Sent Their Children To University. Not So In Today's Federal Republic, However, Where The Gears Of The So-called Elevator Society Have Long Since Ground To A Halt. In The Absence Of The Social Mobility Of Yesterday, Widespread Social Exhaustion And Anxiety Have Emerged Across Mainstream Society. Oliver Nachtwey Analyses The Reasons For This Social Rupture In Post-war German Society And Investigates The Conflict Potential Emerging As A Result, Concluding That Although The Country Has Managed To Muddle Through The Eurocrisis Largely Unscathed Thus Far, Simmering Tensions Beneath The Surface Nevertheless Threaten To Undermine The German System's Stability In The Years To Come. The Critical Matrix -- Is Power Always Secondary To The Economy? -- Notes On Individuation -- Resistance -- Critique -- Remarks On Western Reason. Deborah Cook. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The alliance of critical theory between Frankfurt and Paris The alliance of critical theory between Frankfurt and ParisAdorno, Foucault and the Critique of the West argues that critical theory continues to offer valuable resources for critique and contestation during this turbulent period. To assess these resources, it examines the work of two of the twentieth century's more prominent social theorists: Theodor W. Adorno and Michel Foucault. Although Adorno was situated squarely in the Marxist tradition that Foucault would occasionally challenge, Deborah Cook demonstrates that their critiques of our current predicament are complementary in important respects. Among other things, these critiques converge in their focus on the historical conditions-economic in Adorno and political in Foucault-that gave rise to the racist and authoritarian tendencies that continue to blight the West. Cook also shows that, when Adorno and Foucault plumb the economic and political forces that have shaped our identities, they offer remarkably similar answers to the perennial question: What is to be done? "One of the German-speaking world's leading young sociologists lays out modern Germany's social and political crisis and its implications for the future of the European hegemon. Upward social mobility represented a core promise of life under the old West German welfare state, in which millions of skilled workers upgraded their VWs to Audis, bought their first homes, and sent their children to university. Not so in today's Federal Republic, however, where the gears of the so-called elevator society have long since ground to a halt. In the absence of the social mobility of yesterday, widespread social exhaustion and anxiety have emerged across mainstream society. Oliver Nachtwey analyses the reasons for this social rupture in post-war German society and investigates the conflict potential emerging as a result, concluding that although the country has managed to muddle through the Eurocrisis largely unscathed thus far, simmering tensions beneath the surface nevertheless threaten to undermine the German system's stability in the years to come."--Résumé de l'éditeur