This volume is a critical analysis of Adorno's work, framed by several essential concerns: his method of analysis; the absences of a theory of social change; his approach to the dialectics of Hegel and Marx; and his use of cultural analysis to disparage the working class.

Where so many others make many of these concerns central to their defense of Adorno’s continued relevance, Lanning instead argues against the significance of important aspects of his theoretical perspective.