The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics (62 page)

 
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An undertaking about a future action or other performance understood to be binding on the person giving it. A covenant shares certain features with a promise, but the two have been distinguished in various ways. Covenants were legally enforceable when bare promises were not. Thomas
Hobbes
denied that a mere promise created a (moral) obligation, but argued that a covenant (in certain circumstances) did. For Hobbes, a covenant involved the promise of future performance given in return for a benefit either received or expected, whereas a promise was a simple statement about the will of the promissor. In Hobbes 's writings, and more generally, an especially important covenant involved a promise of obedience or allegiance sufficient to ground a political
obligation
: his version of the
social contract
which creates the state was a covenant of every man with every other man to relinquish rights of self-government in favour of the sovereign. This was more than a mere promise, because each man received the benefit of the undertakings given by others.
AR 

 
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Critical theory has been defined as ‘theory which can provide the analytical and ethical foundation needed to uncover the structure of underlying social practices and to reveal the possible distortion of social life embodied in them’ (Shawn Rosenberg ). As a body of theory, it is complex and multidisciplinary, seeking to explain the whole phenomenon of consciousness and to undermine the ways in which existing consciousness perpetuates existing societies. It is particularly associated with the ‘
Frankfurt School’
, founded in 1923. The most influential theorists of the first generation were
Adorno
and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), though
Marcuse
, who stayed in the United States when the Frankfurt School returned from exile in 1950, found a larger audience. More recent developments have been dominated by Jurgen Habermas (b. 1929).
In a sense, critical theory starts with
Marx
, but quickly abandons the philosophical materialism, the theory of historical development, and the crucial role of the proletariat, which are key features of most Marxism. What is retained is the sort of explanations of
false consciousness
and of
alienation
which are to be found in Marx's earlier writings. It then draws on a variety of insights into the formation and structure of consciousness (more specifically, ‘modern’ consciousness), including Jean Piaget's accounts of how children learn language and thought, Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophy of language, and
Heidegger's
hermeneutics. But, in each case, it goes beyond these forms of inquiry into a broader, Marx-like account of the political and economic processes upon which the workings of consciousness is said to depend.
Critical theory is thus able to develop a sharp, subtle, and derogatory account of modern consciousness which undermines much we believe by showing us the influences which have moulded our beliefs. These influences are contrasted with rationality and with the conditions for rational argument that would allow what Habermas calls the ‘ideal speech act’. Critical theory has therefore had a considerable influence, often indirect, on such ‘counter-culture’ movements as feminism and the green movement because it allows them to point to the structure and irrational origins of our ‘patriarchal’ or ‘industrial’ thought.
The most criticized weakness of critical theory is its failure to engage in what many writers would regard as genuine ethical or political argument: only very rarely do critical theorists offer reasoned alternatives to capitalism, democracy, or ‘positivist’ science, which are among their most frequent targets. Nor do they clarify what would count as acceptable criteria for the resolution of such arguments.
LA 

 
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(1918–77)
British Labour politician and socialist theorist. C. A. R. (Tony) Crosland 's The Future of Socialism (1956) was a revisionist critique of socialism which had an important impact on the British Labour Party, and on Continental socialist parties.
Crosland defined the goals of modern socialism as the pursuit of political liberalism and political/social equality. Egalitarianism distinguished socialism from other political creeds. It required high levels of government expenditure on services and the redistribution of income and wealth which, he argued, was politically feasible when the economy was expanding. Keynesian demand management of a mixed economy, with some direct government ownership but within a system of predominantly private ownership, was the means to ensure economic growth. Crosland argued that additional nationalization and state ownership of industry was an unnecessary objective of socialism in Britain, which should instead apply state control and regulation of industry. Educational egalitarianism through the replacement of grammar and secondary modern schools by neighbourhood comprehensive schools, together with the expansion of opportunities in higher education, was another important aspect of Crosland's socialism.
Crosland entered the cabinet of the Labour government in 1965, and was a prominent figure, until his untimely death in 1977 while serving as foreign secretary. His arguments undoubtedly contributed to the comprehensive school movement and to the scepticism of many socialists with further nationalization, although in contrast with many other socialists who shared generally similar views, Crosland was not an enthusiastic exponent of membership of the European Community.
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Seats in the House of Lords between the government and opposition benches, where peers not aligned to any political party sit.

 
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