The application of Critical Theory to society itself—examining how social structures are organized, how power operates, and how society might be transformed. Critical Theory of Society asks: What is society? How is it held together? Who benefits from current arrangements? How do institutions, ideologies, and practices reproduce inequality? What would a free, just society look like? Drawing on the entire critical theory tradition from Marx to the Frankfurt School to contemporary thought, it insists that society is never just "the way things are"—it's a product of history, a site of struggle, and a project of transformation. Understanding society requires understanding its contradictions—and acting on them.
"That's just how society works, they say. Critical Theory of Society asks: says who? Society isn't natural; it's made. The way things are isn't the way they have to be. Critical theory insists on asking: who benefits from this arrangement? Who suffers? And what would it take to build something better? Not just understanding the world, but changing it."
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 4, 2026
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