How to not change the world: Actionism and pseudo-praxis in organization and management theory

Abstract

Critical research is facing calls for practical relevance through academic activism, affirmation of alternatives, collaboration with practitioners and critical performativity, with earlier traditions of critique dismissed as being negative, detached, and ineffective. This paper challenges this framing by returning to debates within Frankfurt School critical theory, particularly Theodor Adorno’s analysis of ‘thinking actionism’ – that is, a form of self-defeating critique based on a prioritization of practice, naïve optimism, faith in collectivity, and academic self-aggrandizement. Using this theoretical lens, we problematize trends within recent practice-oriented and impact-focused critical scholarship and offer three provocations. First, we caution against equating critique with practice and impact and dismissing critical theory. Second, we highlight the indirect and often unintended influence of critical theory on practice and revisit Frankfurt School approaches – such as immanent critique and negative dialectics – as theoretical resources that advance the relation between theory and practice. Finally, we evaluate examples of intellectual engagements that illustrate the potential for this more dialectical approach to politics and organizing.