The Relationship Between Marxism and Critical Theory

The Site of the Revolution

The relationship between critical theory and Marxism is a fascinating one. The critical theorists were all self-identified and self-proclaimed Marxists. But they had a problem. They saw the revolution having happened in Russia, but it wasn’t happening in Germany. (The critical theorists were originally all in Germany.) They began to wonder, Why isn’t it happening here?

In Marxism, apart from critical theory, the revolution is going to happen. The revolution is inevitable. Marx himself is a materialist, so this revolution happens from the bottom up. In Marxism, history and reality are determined by one’s historical circumstance, by where one is situated. That’s the driving force in reality. It is inevitable that the revolution will happen.

The revolution has to happen. It will take a massive centralized power, a centralized state, to bring it about. Then, over time, that centralized state will wither away.

Now, the critical theorists said, It’s not happening. And if it’s happening in Russia but it’s not happening here, we have to rethink Marxism. So the critical theorists, in a nutshell, said it has to be something besides economics. It has to be more than economics.

And they began to think, Well, if you have a traditional view of the family, if you have a traditional view of religion, especially Christianity, all those cultural institutions could impede the revolution. So if Mom is happy to submit to Dad, she’s not going to be a very good revolutionary. And if Dad’s happy to be the head of the house, he might not be a good part of a revolutionary system that encourages him to submit and be submissive to other powers.

So the critical theorists are sometimes called cultural Marxists. They say these cultural institutions—particularly the family, the church, traditional views of sexuality—are cultural forces that must be undone, removed, and subverted if the revolution is one day going to happen. So you might say the critical theorists are Marxists who are reworking Marxism. Economics is important but no longer central, and there are these other cultural realities that have to be dismantled and reworked if the revolution is going to truly happen.

Bradley G. Green is the author of What Is Critical Theory?: A Concise Christian Analysis.

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