Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno Dialectic of Enlightenment is a classic exploration of the Enlightenment's self-destruction. Throughout the book, Horkheimer and Adorno explore the ways in which the Enlightenment tradition of critical thought turns back onto itself, changing from a social force that aims to emancipate humanity from oppression to one that undermines individual sovereignty and that contributes to the reign of economic and bureaucratic domination over humanity. The fully enlightened earth radiates disaster triumphant."

The criticisms are well known. Their thesis regarding the advent of the totally administered society is overdrawn; Horkheimer and Adorno exaggerate the powers of popular culture to deceive and manipulate individuals; they miss the contradictions embedded in capitalist society; and they pay too little attention to the sources of resistance and opposition offered by popular culture.