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Neither formulation captures adequately that unique blend of philosophical reflection and social-scientific research known as 'critical theory' which members of the Frankfurt School developed in the 1930s. 4 Applying 'historical materialism to itself (Korsch), they were able to analyse the historical conditions of the possibility of Marxian political economy, and were thus confronted with the task of articulating a 'critical theory of the transition' from liberal-market capitalism to a new social formation which they ambiguously named 'state capitalism'. Their efforts altered the very meaning of Marxian social criticism, and of the critique of ideologies.
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1. From the Critique of Political Economy to the Critique of Instrumental Reason
The evolution of the research programme of the Institut für Sozialforschung can be divided into three separate phases: the 'interdisciplinary materialism' phase of 1932-37, the 'critical theory' approach of 1937-40, and the 'critique of instrumental reason' characterizing the period from 1940 to 1945. 5 Each of these shifts takes place in the wake of the historical experiences of this turbulent period: the prospects of the working-class movement in the Weimar Republic, the appraisal of the social structure of the Soviet Union, and the analysis of Fascism give rise to fundamental shifts in theory. These developments lead to reformulations in the self-understanding of critical theory: the relation between theory and practice, between the subjects and addressees of the theory, are redefined, while the interdependence of philosophy and the sciences, critical theory and Marxism, are reconceptualized.
The 1937 essay on 'Traditional and Critical Theory' was written in a period when the defeat of the German working-class movement and of its parties by Fascism appeared complete, and when the open Stalinist terror and the ensuing 'purges' in the Soviet power apparatus had destroyed all illusions concerning this first experiment of socialism. These experiences were reflected in a reformulation of the theorypractice relation, as well as in a fundamental redefinition of the addressees of the theory.
Whereas in the period preceding 1937, truth was defined as 'a moment of correct praxis', 6 which none the less had to be distinguished from immediate political success, in 'Traditional and Critical Theory' the relation between theoretical truth and the political praxis of specific
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