On totalitarianism

the continuing relevance of Herbert Marcuse

Sarah Hornstein

pp. 87-99

in: Bhambra, Ipek Demir (eds), 1968 in retrospect, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009

Abstract

The late sixties, particularly 1968, was a time of heightened political awareness and social unrest not only in France, but all over the world as well. In the United States, Herbert Marcuse's books, especially Eros and Civilization (1955) and One Dimensional Man (1964), resonated with members of the student movement and he was frequently asked to give lectures at universities and demonstrations. Indeed, it was through this 'sudden popularity" that his work and, as a consequence, that of the Frankfurt School more generally, became so influential to the development of both the American and the international New Left (Jay 1973: 5,284). Herbert Marcuse is therefore, at the very least, an important historical figure. And yet, his work deserves to be treated not just as historically influential, but rather as prescient; Marcuse's work is perhaps even more relevant today than it was when he first wrote it.

Cited authors

Marcuse Herbert