A Critical Theory for theContemporary Age: Issues, Problems, and Possibilities for MeaningfulPolitical Change.

The constantly changing landscape of American society and polity from World War II to the present time has presented significant challenges for all branches of social inquiry. Critical theory, in its attempt to provide description, analysis, and critique of contemporary circumstances, has been particularly affected by this thrust of alteration in the social environment. Critical theory has continually been forced to examine and re-examine its reliance on various strains of thought, especially its (however) latent reliance on Marxist thought. The decline and fall of the Soviet bloc – indubitably the key historical event of the late 20th century confronting the possibility of a critical theory based on Marxism – as well as the stunning increase in technological advances leading to the development of the globalistic, “new” economy has created a world environment in which post-industrial, service-oriented capitalism, and a society characterized by hyper-consumerism and hyper-pluralism, are the order of the day. The currently largely uncontroverted predominance of democratic capitalism in developed societies presents critical theory with perhaps its greatest challenge to date: That is, how to (re-)construct a critical theory that will be able to provide analysis and criticism of the current age despite democratic capitalism’s world hegemony. To that end, this paper will formulate a renewed conception of critical theory that will be equipped to deal appropriately with the contemporary global socio-political situation. My conception will make use of certain post-modernist authors in order to theorize particular novel aspects of the contemporary age, as well as utilizing various neo-Marxist theorists to underscore the continued influence of capitalism on global society and culture, and the importance of maintaining a critique of the capitalist system as an essential facet of a critical theory. In so doing, I will interrogate the work of certain post-modernist thinkers in order to note how their conceptions of the contemporary era can support the type of critical theory I am espousing. Specifically, I will analyze certain of the works of Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, and Laclau & Mouffe to determine what sorts of political action could be effective in the contemporary social/political constellation as a part of such a critical social theory. In its totality, the paper will put forth an outline for a critical theory, which can provide a nuanced analysis/critique of the ever-changing, (potentially) post-modern landscape, and which critically evaluates the possibilities for meaningful political change in that landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]