ABSTRACT
In the space of forty years of intense intellectual activity, the thought of Max Horkheimer (1895-1973) evolved considerably. Horkheimer was the guiding spirit of what is now known as the Frankfurt School, by analogy with the Cologne School (König) and the Munster School (Schelsky). His thought, which was strongly influenced by the historical events of fascism, Stalinism and the rapid development of mass society, was in no way monolithic. In fact, his intellectual evolution can be characterized in terms of an increasing disillusionment with the postponement of the revolution, which first led him to undertake interdisciplinary research into the causes of the postponement of the revolution, then to a reevaluation of Marxist philosophy, then to the radicalization of the critique of rationalization, and finally to a devaluation of civilization.
