What the Right Can Learn from the Frankfurt School
The article discusses the influence of Herbert Marcuse and the Frankfurt School on American political thought. It highlights the contrasting views of the right and left regarding Marcuse's legacy and the cultural implications of his work. The piece references recent publications that explore these differing perspectives.
- ▪Herbert Marcuse was a significant figure in the Frankfurt School and influenced the New Left student movement.
- ▪The American right views Marcuse negatively, attributing ideological excesses in progressive institutions to his influence.
- ▪Recent books explore the contrasting interpretations of the Frankfurt School's role in American culture.
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What the Right Can Learn from the Frankfurt School Paul Gottfried May 21, 2026 Share Share via X Share via Facebook Share via email Copy link May 21, 2026 Share Share via X Share via Facebook Share via email Copy link As a graduate student at Yale in 1964, I enrolled in a course with Herbert Marcuse, the exiled German-Jewish Marxist philosopher. Although I was a member of Yale’s Party of the Right and Marcuse defended Fidel Castro and other Communist dictators, he became an intellectual role model for me, as I wrote in my memoir Encounters, thanks to his charisma and erudition. The same year I met him, Marcuse published his most famous book, One-Dimensional Man.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Compact Magazine.
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