It seeks to bring about social change, not by armed revolution, but by theorising and understanding how existing power structures resist change. It is closely aligned with the field of Contemporary Cultural Studies. It developed in Germany in the 1930s in response to the rise of Fascism and sought to explain the failure of Marxism to bring about social change. It challenges received notions of reality, seeking to demonstrate the ways in which our conceptions are socially constructed (see Glossary). Critical Theory is reflexive that is, it is aware that the “reality” that we experience “out there” does not exist independently of ideology, but that it is shaped (along with our perceptions of it) by forces of power and hegemony (see Glossary) that have a human agency. These forces continually try to control all the means of shaping society and its belief systems - Education, the Media, Religion, the Law, The Church, Planning Regulations, the Economy etc. They do so to reproduce their own version of reality, their own economic, social and cultural supremacy - their hegemony. Critical Theory views all beliefs, realities, values etc. in their social and economic context and asks, “Who stands to gain from society seeing things this way?” It then looks to discover how the beneficiaries of the system have created, shaped and maintained that system to benefit themselves at the expense of others.

 

In other words, Critical Theory investigates the structures and processes of power and oppression that lie masked behind the common realities of everyday life. It tries to reveal how these continue to predominate and what we need to do to achieve greater social equity and justice.

Critical Theory has had a wide-ranging impact in a number of academic disciplines, and bears a close relationship with the field of Cultural Studies (see Glossary). This is because, unlike orthodox Marxism (see Glossary), it recognises the power of culture in the shaping of everyday reality. Orthodox Marxism relied upon an analysis of Class Conflict and Economic factors alone to explain the social dynamics of social change. Critical Theory, then, is predominantly concerned with the issue of cultural struggle as the major social dynamic, while still acknowledging the importance of the ownership of the means of production, ie, Economics (see Glossary) as a very significant variable in determining cultural forms and power.

The remarkable thing about Critical Theory is that it demystifies the ambiguities, conflicts and misunderstandings of social relations, and the ways in which they operate in everyday life. It has also proved to be a very powerful tool for understanding the social and political dynamic of a wide range of different disciplines like Education, and its role in maintaining the status quo power in society. Critical Theory helps to cast a demystifying light on all aspects of knowledge. In this website you will find references to and examples of Critical Theory in such diverse fields as Architecture, Tourism, Psychology, Cultural and Economic Sustainability, Performing Arts, Space Planning, Aesthetics and Education.

 

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