Herbert Marcuse

Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979), German American philosopher, known as a leading theoretician of the radical left and New Left and as an incisive critic of the established order. Born in Berlin, and educated at the universities of Berlin and Freiburg, he was associated with the Institute of Social Research, Frankfurt, until 1933, when the National Socialist Party came into power and the school was closed. Marcuse immigrated to the United States, joining the Institute of Social Research, Columbia University, in 1934. During the 1940s he was employed by various intelligence agencies of the federal government. After 1950 he taught successively at Columbia, Harvard, and Brandeis universities and at the University of California, San Diego.

Marcuse's influence with student leaders was evident during the university rebellions in Europe and the U.S. in the late 1960s. In his writings Marcuse held that some social ills can be overcome only if the democratic process is discarded. He maintained that the most effective challenge to the established order will come from students and minority groups and not from workers, who, he claims, are committed to the status quo. His social philosophy is set forth in Eros and Civilization (1955) and One-Dimensional Man (1964).