Critical theory is, in a generic sense, a social theory oriented toward criticizing and changing society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theories that aim only to understand or explain it. It is a normative approach that is based on the judgment that domination is a problem, that a domination-free society is needed. It wants to inform political struggles that want to establish such a society.

In the broad sense, the theory covers a wide range of approaches focused on the idea of freeing people from the modern state and economic system. That is to say, a theory is critical insofar as it seeks to liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them.

Critical theory is primarily a European social theory. It emerged out of the Kantian/Marxist tradition.

Some of the most prominent figures of the first generation of critical theorists were Max Horkheimer (1895-1973), Theodor Adorno (1903-1969), Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979), Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), Friedrich Pollock (1894-1970), Leo Lowenthal (1900- 1993), and Eric Fromm (1900-1980).

As a pure critique, critical theory is usually regarded as a critique of modernity and by extension, a critique of the developments and institutions associated with modern society.

One of the leading scholars of critical theory, Max Horkheimer, asserts, in his classic work Traditional and Critical Theory, that a critical theory must do two important things: it must account for the whole of society within a historical context, and it should seek to offer a robust and holistic critique by incorporating insights from all social sciences.

Horkheimer argues that capitalism has created a situation wherein people are made to focus on their own individual welfare, without considering anything other than the conservation and multiplication of their own property.

For emancipatory social change, Horkheimer believes that there are some forces of resistance left within humans and that the spirit of humanity is still alive, if not in the individual as a member of social groups, at least in the individual as far as he or she is left alone.

Andrew Linklater, a well-known theorist in international relations, approaches to critical theory as a post-Marxist theory that continues to evolve beyond the paradigm of production to a commitment to dialogic communities that are deeply sensitive about all forms of inclusion and exclusion, domestic, transnational, and international.

The birth of critical theory is greatly inspired by Karl Marx’s theoretical formulation of the relationship between economic base and ideological superstructure. The approach of Marx tends to focus on how power and domination operate, in particular, in the realm of the superstructure.

The first officially appointed director of the Institute was Carl Grunberg, a Marxist professor at the University of Vienna. In 1930, Max Horkheimer succeeded him.

In 1956, Jurgen Habermas joined the Institute as Adorno’s assistant. Young Habermas contributed towards the construction of a critical self-awareness of the socialist student groups around the country. It was in this context that Habermas reacted to the extremism of Rudi Dutschke, the radical leader of the students’ association, who criticized him for defending a non-effective emancipatory view. It was principally against Dutschke’s positions that Habermas, during a public assembly, labeled such positions with the epitome of “left-wing fascism”.

Habermas described discourse theory as relying on three types of validity-claims raised by communicative action. He claimed that it was only when the conditions of truth, rightness and sincerity were raised by speech acts that social coordination could be obtained.

There are basically three pillars of critical theory. The first concerns its epistemology, the second its ontology, and the third its praxeology.

Epistemology, in a generic sense, is a theory of knowledge. It deals with how the very concepts that constitute a theory are constituted and organized.

Ontology is a theory of being, it deals with the question how reality is organized and develops.

Praxeology is the study of aspects of human action, especially political action and ethics. It is concerned with the conceptual analysis and logical implications of preference, choice, means, and so forth.

What is special about Gramsci, as far as his contributions are concerned, is that he developed the concept of “cultural hegemony”, through which the capitalist system perpetuates itself.

There were two particular scholars who played a crucial role in connecting critical theory to international relations by influencing two other significant scholars in the area. The first was Antonio Gramsci, who influenced Robert Cox, and the second was Jürgen Habermas from the Frankfurt School, who influenced Andrew Linklater.

Following Marx’s critical steps, Georg Lukacs and Antonio Gramsci developed theories that explored the cultural and ideological sides of power and domination. Both Lukacs and Gramsci focused their critique on the social forces that prevent people from seeing and understanding the forms of power and domination that exist in society.