HERBERT MARCUSE'S UTOPIANISM. THEORY OF REPRESSIVE AMERICAN SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL (Utopia Herberta Marcusego. Teoria represywnego spoleczenstwa amerykanskiego i rola jednostki)

• Authors: Pietrasz Andrzej
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Herbert Marcuse was one of the most influential representatives of the Frankfurt School along with philosophers such as Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Erich Fromm and Jürgen Habermas. In 1934 he emigrated to the United States. By reinterpretation of some theories of Hegel, Marx, Heidegger and Freud, he was trying to create a complex philosophical system concerning the human being. Because of his critical approach to the Soviet variant of Marxism, he came into conflict with orthodox Marxists. He engaged also in polemics with some principles of capitalism, especially its American version. Marcuse introduced the term 'welfare state' describing a repressive system of government. He believed that an individual was able to stand up to it through determined action against its specific type of society. He also claimed that the contemporary society was totalitarian and - because of that - every member of it was in fact a 'one-dimensional man'. However, in his opinion, some revolutionary currents - especially the American 'New Left' - might be the remedy for the ensuing situation. Although in his declining years Marcuse had revised his views, he was criticized by Marxists as well as by some radical factions of the young counterculture until his death in 1979.

Keywords

EN

AMERICAN SOCIETY; HERBERT MARCUSE; HUMAN BEING; UTOPIANISM

• Publisher: Bialystok University Press
• Journal: Archeus. Studia z bioetyki i antropologii filozoficznej
• Year: 2010
• Volume: 11
• Pages: 75-93
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Pietrasz Andrzej

• Andrzej Pietrasz

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11PLAAAA09777