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This volume brings together a collection of diverse essays that explore the enduring relevance and evolving legacy of Herbert Marcuse’s thought. The editors’ introduction will outline the central themes that unite these contributions, highlighting Marcuse’s critique of repression, his vision of liberation, and his influence on contemporary critical theory. The introduction will establish the key concepts that recur across chapters—such as repressive desublimation, the culture of the heart, and the authoritarian personality—demonstrating how these ideas intersect with pressing political and social phenomena, from neoliberalism and authoritarianism to contemporary practices of refusal and micro-revolutions of everyday life. The introduction will begin by contextualizing Marcuse’s work within the Frankfurt School, emphasizing his intellectual dialogues with figures such as Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno, as explored in chapters like Howard Eiland’s discussion of the Marcuse-Benjamin affair. It will trace Marcuse’s attempts to synthesize psychoanalysis, aesthetics, and Marxist critique, a thread taken up in Alex Koutsogiannis’s examination of freedom, as well as in Colby Dickinson’s exploration of eros and resonance. The introduction will draw out how these ideas animate the struggle against domination, whether in Geoff Boucher’s application of Marcuse’s authoritarian personality theory to contemporary right-wing populism or Terry Maley’s analysis of late-stage neoliberal counterrevolution. The editors will also reflect on the contemporary salience of Marcuse’s thought, noting how it speaks to emergent phenomena like “quiet quitting” (as explored by Mary Caputi) or the ongoing tension between pleasure and power in movements of liberation (as discussed by Eduardo Altheman C. Santos in relation to Foucault). Ultimately, the introduction will argue that Marcuse’s enduring relevance lies in his capacity to illuminate the dialectic of repression and liberation, offering conceptual tools to imagine new forms of life beyond the constraints of late capitalism. It will present the volume as a collective effort to extend Marcuse’s radical vision into the present, fostering an ongoing conversation about resistance, desire, and the possibility of a freer world.

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Introduction: A New Sensibility for the Twenty-First Century

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Amirhosein Khandizaji,
  • Mary Caputi

摘要

This volume brings together a collection of diverse essays that explore the enduring relevance and evolving legacy of Herbert Marcuse’s thought. The editors’ introduction will outline the central themes that unite these contributions, highlighting Marcuse’s critique of repression, his vision of liberation, and his influence on contemporary critical theory. The introduction will establish the key concepts that recur across chapters—such as repressive desublimation, the culture of the heart, and the authoritarian personality—demonstrating how these ideas intersect with pressing political and social phenomena, from neoliberalism and authoritarianism to contemporary practices of refusal and micro-revolutions of everyday life. The introduction will begin by contextualizing Marcuse’s work within the Frankfurt School, emphasizing his intellectual dialogues with figures such as Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno, as explored in chapters like Howard Eiland’s discussion of the Marcuse-Benjamin affair. It will trace Marcuse’s attempts to synthesize psychoanalysis, aesthetics, and Marxist critique, a thread taken up in Alex Koutsogiannis’s examination of freedom, as well as in Colby Dickinson’s exploration of eros and resonance. The introduction will draw out how these ideas animate the struggle against domination, whether in Geoff Boucher’s application of Marcuse’s authoritarian personality theory to contemporary right-wing populism or Terry Maley’s analysis of late-stage neoliberal counterrevolution. The editors will also reflect on the contemporary salience of Marcuse’s thought, noting how it speaks to emergent phenomena like “quiet quitting” (as explored by Mary Caputi) or the ongoing tension between pleasure and power in movements of liberation (as discussed by Eduardo Altheman C. Santos in relation to Foucault). Ultimately, the introduction will argue that Marcuse’s enduring relevance lies in his capacity to illuminate the dialectic of repression and liberation, offering conceptual tools to imagine new forms of life beyond the constraints of late capitalism. It will present the volume as a collective effort to extend Marcuse’s radical vision into the present, fostering an ongoing conversation about resistance, desire, and the possibility of a freer world.