The proletariat’s integration forced critical theory into transcendent critique

Evidence

Thus, it might be said of the first generation of critical theorists in the 1840’s that theirs was an “immanent” critique of society based on the existence of a real historical “subject.” By the time of its renaissance in the twentieth century, Critical Theory was being increasingly forced into a position of “transcendence” by the withering away of the revolutionary working class. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 190

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the key immanent-vs-transcendent distinction in Critical Theory’s self-understanding.
• XREF: Connects to later Frankfurt debates about the missing revolutionary subject and the turn to aesthetics and culture. — connects to: The Institut’s alienation from all left factions drove its turn to pure theory — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 172; Changed historical conditions forced critical theory from immanent to transcendent critique — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 190; The proletariat’s backwardness enabled its integration into bourgeois society — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 977 (+6 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 190

Broader Connections

• Changed historical conditions forced critical theory from immanent to transcendent critique #contradicts (0.90) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 190
• Working-class movements accommodated capitalism while theory idealized a revolutionary proletariat #corroborates (0.90)
• The proletariat’s backwardness enabled its integration into bourgeois society #expands (0.85) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 977
• Proletarian integration into capitalism proceeded through organization rather than revolutionary consciousness #corroborates (0.85) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 673
• Transcendent critique loses force as society grows more one-dimensional #complicates (0.80) — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 50
• Critical Theory arose from Marxism’s failure to explain workers’ passivity #qualifies (0.80) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 389