Where is the emphasis to be put, on the internal analysis in the strong sense of the word or on the historical conditions of the production of texts? Since what is in question are works by an author which is at home in the universe of Marxism (Ressentimento da dialética and O fio da meada, by the philosopher Paulo Arantes), it is argued in this article devoted to a critical examinations of these books that the opposition may be stated to be between two thinkers that play central roles in Arantes' works: Lukács and Adorno.