The Frankfurt School critiqued both Stalinism and Western capitalism in equal measure

Evidence

In short, although the Institut refused to provide excuses for Stalinism - by no means a new development in its history - it also refused to join the chorus of apostate former Marxists in excoriating the “God that failed.” Its critique extended to “industrialized society as a whole,” which certainly included the United States. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 685

Categorization

• SHARE: Good specific line to send to anyone interested in Cold War intellectual history.
• XREF: connects to: The Frankfurt School rejected the totalitarianism-versus-pluralism dichotomy as a false polarity — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 755; The Frankfurt School preserved Marx’s libertarian impulse through the Stalinist era — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 883; The Frankfurt School publicly declared its philosophy incompatible with Soviet doctrine. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1739

Broader Connections

• The Frankfurt School preserved Marx’s libertarian impulse through the Stalinist era #expands (0.85) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 883