This article aims at discussing the contributions of G. H. Mead's pragmatism for two turns within critical theory. If the first generation of Frankfurt was averse to the American pragmatists, they became central to subsequent generations of critical theorists. Mead's writings is one of the bases of the Habermasian theory of communicative action. It is also at the core of Honneth's notion of recognition. The objective of this article is to reconstruct the reinterpretations of Mead's work developed by these two philosophers, in order to reveal two alternative democratic projects to critical theory from the same pragmatist grounds. In doing this, the article seeks to evince Mead's relevance for contemporary political theory.
Pragmatism; Critical Theory; Mead; Habermas; Honneth