Politics Unblocked: Arendt and Adorno on the Possibility of Action in an Administered World

In this paper, I draw attention to the potential that Arendt’s plurality centered notion of politics has for critical theory; especially for the critical theory of Theodor W. Adorno, but also beyond. I argue that Arendt’s understanding of politics is the closest approximation to a political theory in line with Adorno’s thinking. Illuminating this proximity allows for a more combined reading than usually asserted and can thereby inform current discourses of and about critical theory.