Critical political concepts cannot be analyzed through ordinary-language methods.

Evidence

The operational or behavioral translation assimilates such terms as “freedom,” “government,” “England,” with “broom” and “pineapple,” and the reality of the former with that of the latter. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 668

Categorization

• XREF: This is the central target of Marcuse’s critique: analytic philosophy’s assimilation of political terms to kitchen-table objects. Connects to his later essay ‘Repressive Tolerance’ and to the broader Frankfurt School critique of positivism.
• DEFINE: Clarifies what Marcuse means by the ‘operational or behavioral translation’ that drains critical concepts of their political content.