In the introduction to Widerspruch und Subjektivität, Paul Cain attempts to relate his work to the Hegel critiques of Kierkegaard, Marx, and Adorno. Perhaps he should have discussed specific facets of these critiques in the body of the work as well, or advanced his own. His discussions of “The Unhappy Consciousnes”, and recognition contain much that is relevant for the Hegel reception of the above mentioned figures. His own thesis that the young Hegel “contaminates” or conflates contradictions implies a criticism (...) of Hegel. (shrink)

Dupré remarks in the last chapter that Marx would have been amused, but not surprised, by capitalism's success in turning the counterculture into a profitable business enterprise. The Critical Theory, if not Marxism itself, was very active in this revolt against bourgeois values. Given the fact that it may even have exacerbated what Dupré decries as the commercialization of culture, one could expect him to adopt a combined systematic-historical approach. One would anticipate his rejection of a deterministic structure-superstructure model in (...) favor of a holistic approach to Marx's theory of culture. But one would also expect him to address the events of the last twenty years, as, say, Marcuse addressed the events of his time. (shrink)