ABSTRACT

In 1843, Marx (1978) observed that in his German homeland “everything is being forcibly repressed” (p. 12) and so it was necessary to engage in “a ruthless criticism of everything existing, ruthless in two senses: The criticism must not be afraid of its own conclusions, nor of conflict with the powers that be” (p. 13). The concept of “ruthless criticism” that defines critical theory and critical research is called critique (sometimes spelled “ Kritik ” to acknowledge the German origins and to separate critical theory research from other forms of criticism such as literary criticism or rhetorical criticism). In this chapter you will learn how to engage in critique from both a Marxist and a postmodern perspective.