To Have or Not to Have Sex in Critical Theory: Sexuality in the Early Writings of Wilhelm Reich and Erich Fromm

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between society and sexuality, which is overlooked in the later phases of Critical Theory. The author begins with a discussion of the role of sexuality in the writings of Wilhelm Reich and Erich Fromm. Reich uniformly celebrates and strategically deploys sexuality to critique Western capitalistic society while Fromm lacks a clear and consistent utilization of sexuality. Reich uses Marx in his predominately Freudian framework of sexual repression in trying to address the problem of repression and suppression in Western capitalism. Fromm, on the other hand puts Freud into his already Marxist approach to authority, the family, and ideology. Adorno, Marcuse, and Horkheimer largely ignored sexuality in their later writings, but instead used Freudian concepts in their theory of the authoritarian personality.