ABSTRACT
‘Critical theory of society’, as formulated by Max Horkheimer and his team in the period of the Zeitschrift, did a great deal to clarify, revitalise and continue the full dialectical nature of Marxian theory. The role of ‘critical theory of society’ was, essentially, to be one of ideological enlightenment of the social forces destined to carry out this momentous act. This is the crucial link in the theory-praxis nexus. The fundamental problem in the theory-praxis nexus is the relation between the revolutionary theory and the class-consciousness of the working class. Trotskyism never generated a significant political movement in Germany at this time, and it is thus difficult to assess fully the practical significance of this theory. The concrete reality of their otherwise abstract theory was something they actually resisted. Naturally, a spontaneity-theory is conveniently freed from the necessity of formulating organisational categories, but any such theory can hardly claim to be the revolutionary ‘truth’.
