Adorno's Gamble Harnessing German Ideology

In a dramatic reappraisal of the leading light of the Frankfurt School, Immanen follows Adorno's path of philosophical development from the late Weimar era through years in exile to the postwar period, establishing his debt to thinkers of radical conservative bent. In particular, he focuses on Adorno's enduring, and daring, effort to harness two of the most infamous works from this tradition―Oswald Spengler's Decline of the West and Ludwig Klages's The Spirit as Adversary of the Soul―and to repurpose their reactionary teachings for emancipatory ends.