In today’s turbulent global climate, with political extremism, misinformation, and deep societal fractures growing by the day, the Frankfurt School’s critical theory is not merely relevant—it is essential. Populist rhetoric, fake news, echo chambers, and brazen political power grabs are now entrenched features of the modern world, starkly exposing the mechanisms of domination that the Frankfurt thinkers warned about decades ago.

Founded in 1923 at Goethe University Frankfurt, the Frankfurt School—officially named the Institute for Social Research—was the first Marxist-oriented research centre within a major European university. Its founders, Carl Grünberg and later Max Horkheimer, envisioned a project that went beyond traditional Marxist economics by fusing it with philosophy, psychology, sociology, and cultural studies. Their overarching goal was bold and sweeping: to uncover not only the economic exploitation at the heart of capitalist societies but also the subtler cultural and ideological systems that keep populations compliant and subdued.

The School’s foundational principles continue to serve as a masterclass in critical thought, each illustrated vividly by today’s realities:

1. Interdisciplinary Critique: Melding Marxist theory with Freudian psychoanalysis, cultural theory, and empirical sociology to expose modern domination—for example, examining how economic inequality is intertwined with media narratives and psychological manipulation in contemporary politics.
2. Immanent Critique: Highlighting contradictions between societal ideals and practices, such as nations that proclaim democratic values while enacting oppressive immigration policies.
3. The Culture Industry: Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory that mass-produced culture creates passive consumers—seen today in the commodification of activism and constant streaming entertainment that distracts from civic engagement.
4. Negative Dialectics: A refusal to accept rigid ideological frameworks, essential now when both left- and right-wing populisms push oversimplified worldviews.
5. Emancipatory Knowledge: Knowledge for true liberation, as seen in grassroots movements using education and digital platforms to challenge systemic injustices worldwide.

Exiled by the rise of Nazism, many Frankfurt School scholars fled Germany, ultimately reestablishing themselves in the United States. This upheaval deepened their understanding of authoritarianism and media manipulation. Their pivotal text, Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947), posited that Enlightenment rationality, initially a tool for human liberation, had become inverted into an instrument of domination—a prophetic diagnosis that resonates today in the age of surveillance capitalism, digital monopolies, and algorithmic control.

Herbert Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Man (1964) remains profoundly relevant, dissecting how advanced industrial societies mute dissent by manufacturing ‘false needs’—a term he used to describe artificial desires created by the system that keep individuals tied to consumerism and prevent them from recognising their true interests and potential for liberation. His critique eerily prefigures today’s digital consumer culture, where even rebellion and dissent are commodified and sold back to the masses. (1964) remains profoundly relevant, dissecting how advanced industrial societies mute dissent by manufacturing false needs and distractions. His critique eerily prefigures today’s digital consumer culture, where even rebellion and dissent are commodified and sold back to the masses. Erich Fromm, combining psychoanalysis with social theory, warned that the psychological burden of freedom often pushes individuals towards authoritarian figures—a pattern glaringly evident in the global rise of leaders like Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Narendra Modi. Each has used populist tactics to chip away at democratic norms, consolidate personal power, and enrich their inner circles under the guise of serving the “common people.”

Jürgen Habermas’s theory of communicative rationality—a democratic ideal of genuine, distortion-free dialogue—now seems a distant dream in the digital Wild West. Online platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok have become playgrounds for trolls, bots, and sophisticated disinformation campaigns. These platforms foster echo chambers that reinforce ideological divides, drowning out nuanced debate in favour of outrage and extremism.

Around the world, we are witnessing brazen subversions of constitutional governance: Trump’s relentless efforts to delegitimise democratic processes in the United States; Bolsonaro’s assault on Brazil’s electoral system; Orbán’s judicial and media overhauls in Hungary; and Putin’s manipulation of term limits coupled with expansionist ambitions. In India, Modi’s government faces sustained criticism for eroding press freedom and marginalising minority groups. Meanwhile, media outlets—from Fox News in the U.S. to RT in Russia, and state-controlled broadcasters in Turkey and China—shape reality to fit political agendas, exemplifying the Frankfurt School’s concept of the culture industry in action. Simultaneously, kleptocracy thrives, as leaders exploit crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate emergencies to amass personal wealth while maintaining a populist veneer. Grouping these examples regionally and thematically reveals an unsettling global pattern of democratic erosion and media manipulation.

The Frankfurt School’s legacy is more than a theoretical exercise; it is a call to arms for critical vigilance. Their analytical tools help us decode the political spectacle that dominates modern life, revealing the systemic efforts to pacify, manipulate, and control under the guise of progress and prosperity. Their work reminds us that freedom demands more than constitutional rights and institutions—it requires unflinching critical awareness, civic courage, and an unwavering commitment to truth, even when that truth is uncomfortable.

In revisiting and expanding upon the Frankfurt School’s rich intellectual heritage, we equip ourselves not just with historical insight but with the means to navigate and challenge the tangled web of power, culture, and ideology that defines our present moment. Their critical theory remains a beacon, urging us to resist complacency, question everything, and refuse the seductive comfort of passive complicity in the face of mounting global challenges. Are we prepared to rise to that challenge, or will we allow history to repeat itself unchecked?

A Quick Timeline of the Frankfurt School

• 1923: The Institute for Social Research is founded in Frankfurt, with Carl Grünberg as its first director.

• 1929: Grünberg steps down due to ill health.

• 1930: Max Horkheimer takes over and begins steering the Institute toward Critical Theory.

• 1937: Horkheimer and Adorno begin shaping the idea of the “culture industry” and other key Critical Theory concepts.

• 1950s–60s: Herbert Marcuse and others carry Frankfurt School ideas into the New Left and student movements, particularly in the US and Europe.

Discover more online:

The Frankfurt School – Wikipedia