Marcuse, Herbert, << mahr KOO zuh, HEHR behrt >> (1898-1979), was a German-born philosopher and political theorist. Marcuse, a socialist, was widely known for his critical analysis of capitalism and the American political system. During the 1960’s, his ideas were especially influential among antiwar demonstrators, feminists, artists, and student activist groups. He is sometimes called the “father of the New Left.”
Marcuse sought to gain a deeper understanding of modern capitalism. He believed that capitalist culture contributed to a form of “social control” over the American people. Marcuse’s work was strongly influenced by the ideas of the German philosopher Karl Marx and the Austrian physician Sigmund Freud. Unlike Marx, Marcuse did not believe that workers would unite to overthrow the capitalist system. Instead, he believed that students and minority groups would bring about change by resisting oppression and challenging the social order. Marcuse’s major writings include Reason and Revolution (1941), Eros and Civilization (1955), One Dimensional Man (1964), and Counterrevolution and Revolt (1972).
Marcuse was born on July 19, 1898, in Berlin, Germany. He served briefly in the German military during World War I (1914-1918). In 1922, Marcuse received his Ph.D. degree in philosophy from the University of Freiburg. He later continued his studies under the German philosopher Martin Heidegger. In 1933, Marcuse began work at the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, a research group with Marxist leanings. But Marcuse, who was Jewish, left Germany later that year, after the Nazis took control of the German government.
After a brief stay in Switzerland, Marcuse came to the United States in 1934. He became a U.S. citizen in 1940. During World War II (1939-1945), Marcuse served with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, a secret government agency that collected foreign intelligence during the war. After the war, Marcuse held academic positions at Harvard, Columbia, and Brandeis universities, and at the University of California, San Diego. Marcuse died on July 29, 1979.
See also Davis, Angela Yvonne ; Socialism .
