Horkheimer’s state capitalism theory rested on speculative philosophy of history rather than evidence

Evidence

This was why the last part of Neumann’s objection, behind which lay the whole weight of his book, was decisive: `For a whole year I have been doing nothing but studying economic processes in Germany, and I have up till now not found a shred of evidence to show that Germany is in a situation remotely resembling state capitalism.’ … As I have boundless confidence in your research on economic processes in Germany, I do believe your statement that Germany is not in a situation remotely resembling that of state capitalism. On the other hand, I cannot free myself from Engels’s view that society is moving towards precisely that. I must therefore assume that the approach of such a period very probably still threatens us. And this seems to me to a great extent to prove the value of Pollock’s construct in providing a basis for discussion of a topical problem, in spite of all its deficiencies. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1176

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the classic theory-vs.-evidence tension of the Frankfurt School’s method as seen throughout earlier chapters; also echoes Pollock’s state capitalism thesis argued in ch18 and ch42. — connects to: Horkheimer treated the dialectic of history as a hypothesis, not a structural plan — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 487; The Frankfurt School neglected autonomous political theory until Pollack’s state capitalism — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 395; Horkheimer’s racket theory saw survival as compulsory team membership (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Horkheimer treated the dialectic of history as a hypothesis, not a structural plan #corroborates (0.85) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 487
• The Frankfurt School neglected autonomous political theory until Pollack’s state capitalism #corroborates (0.72) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 395