July 19: The Multi-Dimensional Herbert Marcuse

Herbert Marcuse, whose cultural critique of capitalism and its dynamics of human alienation helped shape the utopianism of the New Left student movement in America, was born in Germany on this date in 1898. As a political philosopher, Marcuse suggested that the capitalist system fosters conformity and “repressive tolerance.” After departing from Nazi Germany in 1933, he worked with the U.S. Office of War Information on anti-Nazi propaganda and then developed an academic career at Columbia, Harvard, Brandeis and the University of California. He was a charismatic teacher, and many of his students became influential academics themselves. Marcuse is best known for two books, Eros and Civilization (1955) and One-Dimensional Man (1964).

“Free election of masters does not abolish the masters or the slaves.” —Herbert Marcuse

Bryan Magee interviews Herbert Marcuse about the Frankfurt School (the first of five videos)