Institutional survival overtook critical theory as Horkheimer’s governing aim

Evidence

But for Horkheimer this distinction obviously became less and less relevant, at least from the time of the Mannesmann study onwards. His goal was, rather, to build up a respected Institute, with the vague image of a glorious past, which attracted socially useful sociologists with humanist convictions who had good prospects of getting jobs in the fields of industry and administration. Development along these lines must have been a relief to Horkheimer, who had a strong need for the goodwill of influential personalities. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 519

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The founder of Critical Theory converting his Institute into a credentialing pipeline for industry and administration is a quiet but devastating judgment on the school’s postwar trajectory.