Abstract:
The object of this article are the analyses of the phenomenon of social integration of the proletariat, carried out by Erich Fromm and Max Horkheimer in the 1930s. Besides texts by both authors, the article resorts as well to empirical research conducted in the beginning of the decade within the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research. More specifically, the study on “character structure” of German workers (coordinated by Erich Fromm) is analyzed, being also considered the main results of the studies that had as their objects changes in sexuality and in the authority structure of European family at the time. The article shows how Horkheimer made use of central concepts of Marx’s thought when examining the topics of those studies, resulting in a perspective capable of apprehending ongoing social changes.
Keywords:
Max Horkheimer; Integration of the proletariat; Critical theory; Reification; Fetishism