Herbert Marcuse and Dismissing Conservative Views

“Marcuse’s efforts, for the most part, have proven successful, however. To this point, the idea of a right-wing, pro-capitalist status quo has been thoroughly ingrained into the public imagination…”

Although countless individuals are currently participating in the anti-free speech push throughout the United States, it seems that the main, underlying culprits can be narrowed down to a handful of questionable intellectuals. Without a doubt, the most influential of these was the German-American thinker Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979), a social theorist of the Frankfurt School. Marcuse’s work in the United States played a significant role in developing the anti-intellectual framework commonly used for opposing the political right’s ability to express its points of view. Such ideas came to the forefront when Marcuse published his most controversial essay, “Repressive Tolerance,” in 1965.

Plainly speaking, the purpose of “Repressive Tolerance” was to trick its readers into accepting a false dichotomy. Marcuse—in the essay—attempts to convince readers that conservatives use means of force to oppress left-wing ideas. As a result, the Left, having less political power than the Right, has no choice but to abide by the rules of the game which, according to Marcuse, were ruthlessly oppressive to begin with. A simple but dangerous conclusion is reached: Since the Right is nothing more than a force for oppression, the Left must rescue humanity by silencing the authoritarian viewpoints of conservatives by any means necessary.

Contrary to the intent of its author, the various moral and logical errors with “Repressive Tolerance” suggest a far different narrative: that the actual perpetrators of political suppression are thinkers like Herbert Marcuse himself.