Horkheimer theorized totalitarian monopoly capitalism as a racket phase of society

Evidence

The elaboration of the sociological motif was carried out in the years that followed under the rubric of a theory of the racket phase of society (see pp. 318-19). This referred to a form of totalitarian monopoly capitalism, a society in which the insignificant individual could only survive as part of an association, a team; in which, to preserve himself, the individual had to knuckle down everywhere, work together as part of a team, be ready and able to do everything', be always watchful and ready, always aiming at some immediate practical goal’. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1306

The elaboration of the sociological motif was carried out in the years that followed under the rubric of a theory of the racket phase of society (see pp. 318-19). This referred to a form of totalitarian monopoly capitalism, a society in which the insignificant individual could only survive as part of an association, a team; in which, to preserve himself, the individual had to knuckle down everywhere, work together as part of a team, be ready and able to do everything', be always watchful and ready, always aiming at some immediate practical goal’. 134 The elaboration of the motif connected with the philosophy of history was carried out under the rubric of a theory of the self-destruction of reason through instrumentalization. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 335

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the Frankfurt School’s ‘racket theory’ of society: totalitarian monopoly capitalism where individuals survive only by teaming up.
• XREF: Racket theory parallels later images of organizational man and the managed, team-oriented individual in postwar capitalism studies. — connects to: Horkheimer’s fascism theory generalized beyond orthodox communist capitalism-as-agent doctrine. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1070; Jack London’s 1908 dystopia prefigured twentieth-century totalitarian capitalism — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 3296; Horkheimer’s racket theory saw survival as compulsory team membership (+8 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1306; Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 335

Broader Connections

• Monopoly capitalism replaces liberal-legal institutions with irrational totalitarian authority #expands (0.92) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 402
• Fully monopolized capitalism requires a state monopoly over political power to survive #expands (0.85)