Lowenthal treated literature as a passive reflection of economic development

Evidence

Lowenthal saw literature as merely an appendage of economic and social development. He did not discuss progress in the literary sphere, which was able to be in a state of tension in relation to social developments, in the way that Adorno attempted to demonstrate in music. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 498

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with Adorno’s dialectical view of art; echoes orthodox vs. critical Marxism split. Connects to how the Institute differentiated itself from mechanical materialist determinism. — connects to: Materialist literary history argues basic economic structures appear in literature — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 497; Literature’s own content overlaps with economic form, weakening it as an abstract model; Cultural Studies emerged from a literary rather than economic tradition — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 956 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Economic-reductionist cultural theory stays trapped at an epochal level of abstraction #expands (0.80)
• Literature’s own content overlaps with economic form, weakening it as an abstract model #expands (0.75)
• Cultural studies rejects the base-superstructure model of economic determination #qualifies (0.75)
• Cultural Studies emerged from a literary rather than economic tradition #responds-to (0.72) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 956