Adorno described Critical Theory as a message in a bottle with no addressee.

Evidence

This difference of view corresponded to an aversion to the idea of the message in the bottle' among the former group, and a liking for it among the latter. Message in the bottle’ was an expression used mainly by Adorno for Critical Theory, which he saw as lacking an addressee and as being condemned to `hibernating’ for the foreseeable future. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 301

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies ‘message in the bottle’ as Adorno’s term for an addressee-less Critical Theory condemned to hibernate.
• DEEPTHINKING: The image of theory sealed against an absent future audience is a durable frame for thinking about writing with no present readership.