The first Russian monograph devoted to the analysis of the ideas of Max Horkheimer, the founder of the Frankfurt School of Social Research. The development of the concept of critical theory, the justification of a new method of social research, which developed in discussions with colleagues and like-minded people (L. Löwenthal, Z. Kracauer, T. Adorno, E. Fromm), as well as in polemics with the most influential schools of our time (neo-Kantianism, phenomenology, philosophy of life, psychoanalysis, etc.). Horkheimer's views are also presented in the broader context of fashion trends of the 20th century: expressionism in art and literature. The cover design uses a fragment of Volker Kriegel's caricature.