French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Honneth, The Critique of Power: Michel Foucault and the Frankfurt School, Elaborations of a Critical Theory of Society
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
The Critique of Power: Michel Foucault and the Frankfurt School, Elaborations of a Critical Theory of Society
Axel Honneth
Marianne Dautrey (Translator), Olivier Voirol (Translator)
Publication date: 19/01/2017 Publisher: La Découverte Series: Théorie critique ISBN: 978-2-7071-7425-3 EAN: 9782707174253 Format: Large Format Binding: Paperback No. of pages: 380 p.
The German philosopher and sociologist Axel Honneth is well known to the French-speaking public today. While most of his works have now been translated, one major book had remained untranslated: The Critique of Power, Honneth's first book, which largely anchors his theoretical work. This volume is of paramount importance for the social sciences and social philosophy. First and foremost, it offers a comprehensive overview and a framework for discussing the entire tradition of Critical Theory, from Max Horkheimer to Jürgen Habermas.
It provides an accurate representation of the various authors discussed, with remarkable conciseness and conceptual precision, thereby offering invaluable keys to engaging with the works of major but complex thinkers such as Horkheimer, Adorno, and Habermas. As such, Kritik der Macht can serve as an introduction to the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School—albeit an introduction that offers a specific reading through which the author carves out his own path, debating and appropriating this tradition of thought.
Indeed, Honneth carves out his own conceptual path while drawing several decisive conclusions for his subsequent work, which eventually led him to formulate his now-famous theory of "social recognition." It is also in Kritik der Macht that Honneth develops his significant critique of Habermas's irenic conception of society, emphasizing the need to develop a theory of conflict and struggle.
Finally, this book also offers a reading of Michel Foucault's work, placing his contribution within the lineage of the Frankfurt School. The relationship between Foucault and Critical Theory, often mentioned but rarely thoroughly debated, is remarkably clarified here. In Germany, the book played an important role in the reception of Foucault's work, amidst the polemical tensions between Habermas and French postmodernism. Through the richness of its readings, the rigor of its commentary, and the precision of its critiques, as well as by highlighting various intellectual crossovers between France and Germany, this work provides a deeper understanding of the thought of an author who currently plays a leading role in global intellectual debate.
Born in 1949, Axel Honneth is a philosopher and sociologist, professor at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, where he succeeded Jürgen Habermas, and director of the Institut für Sozialforschung. He is the author of numerous books on social philosophy, including The Struggle for Recognition (Cerf, 2000), La Société du mépris (La Découverte, 2006), Reification (Gallimard, 2007), Pathologies of Freedom (La Découverte, 2008), and Un monde de déchirements (La Découverte, 2013).
Table of Contents:
Preface to the French Edition
Foreword
I / The Inability to Analyze Society: The Aporias of Critical Theory
1. Max Horkheimer's Original Idea: The Sociological Deficit of Critical Theory
2. The Turn in the Philosophy of History in Dialectic of Enlightenment: A Critique of the Domination of Nature
3. Adorno's Theory of Society: The Definitive Repression of the Social
II / The Rediscovery of the Social: Foucault and Habermas
4. Foucault's Analysis of Historical Discourse: The Paradoxes of a Semiotically Based History of Knowledge
5. From Discourse Analysis to the Theory of Power: Struggle as a Paradigm of the Social
6. Foucault's Theory of Society: A Systems-Theoretic Resolution of the Dialectic of Enlightenment
7. Habermas's Knowledge-Anthropological Approach: The Theory of Knowledge Interests
8. Two Competing Models of the History of the Species: Communication as a Paradigm of the Social
9. Habermas's Theory of Society: A Transformation of the Dialectic of Enlightenment in the Light of Communication Theory
Postscript to the 1988 Edition.
*
An article about this book can be read on en-attendant-nadeau.fr:
Axel Honneth is a central figure in contemporary social philosophy and a leading representative of the Frankfurt School tradition, having taught at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University and directed the Institut für Sozialforschung. This foundational study examines the trajectory of Critical Theory from Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno to Jürgen Habermas. By placing these German thinkers into dialogue with Michel Foucault, Honneth addresses complex questions regarding power, social conflict, and the rationalization of society. The work serves as an essential resource for students and scholars seeking to understand the theoretical underpinnings of modern sociology.
Rooted in the intellectual traditions of European social philosophy and post-war critical thought, The Critique of Power provides crucial context for understanding the evolution of contemporary sociological inquiry. It illuminates the theoretical tensions between French post-structuralism and German critical theory, particularly regarding the concepts of discourse, domination, and communicative action. Researchers in philosophy, political science, and the humanities will find this volume particularly useful for navigating the conceptual intersections between Frankfurt School sociology and Foucault's genealogical analyses of power structures.