Opposition to theory united rival camps once they shared a hostility to criticism.

Evidence

The aversion to us from the official side can still be seen as resulting from the idea that there is some sort of power behind Marxist theory, although precisely this power is miserably withering away for the very reason that it has relinquished that theory. The aversion to everything `academic’ … is merely the result of that panicstricken fear of criticism which sees thinking as in itself suspicious … It was only a matter of time before the opposed powers, which resemble one another, joined forces again. Thinking is increasingly becoming the common enemy … indeed, we both saw the beginning of this process in Frankfurt. It has now become generalized and is uniting groups which had been opposed to one another. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1048

Categorization

• XREF: Foreshadows the Cold War-era convergence of Communist and anti-Communist suspicion of critical thought; links to the Frankfurt School’s exile narrative and later reception.