Critical Theory of Society or Self-Critical Society

This paper presents a critical comparative reading of Ulrich Beck and Herbert Marcuse. Beck's thesis on ‘self-critical society’ and the concept of ‘sub-politics’ are evaluated within the framework of Marcusian critical theory. We argue for the continued relevance of Marcuse for the project of emancipatory politics. We recognise that a focus upon the imminent and spontaneous possibilities for radical social change within the ‘sub-political’ is a useful provocation to the high abstractionism of much critical theory, but suggest that such possibilities are better captured in a Marcusian theoretical frame than they are in Beck's account.Keywords: BeckMarcusecritical theorysub-politics/subpoliticsself-critical societyriskreflexivity reflexreal ismutopia

Critical reading · Critical theory · Epistemology · Focus (optics · Political science · Politics · Reading (process · Relevance (law · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics