The Attitude to Marxism

As a part of critical theory, Habermas in one part of his theoretical opus is a representative of Marxism, but when trying to reform its most significant concept—historical materialism, Habermas became convinced that it shows such weaknesses that it is better to build a completely new theory, than to rehabilitate Marxism. In this chapter, Habermas’s attitude toward several concepts of Marxism is presented, from which significant differences can be seen in relation to the working class, the relationship between theory and practice, ideology, etc. Habermas’s break with Marxism opened up space to develop a completely new discursive theory, which includes his communication theory and the theory of the public sphere.