Not only is the self entwined in society; it owes society its existence in the most literal sense.
Theodor AdornoWhat can oppose the decline of the west is not a resurrected culture but the utopia that is silently contained in the image of its decline.
Theodor AdornoLies are told only to convey to someone that one has no need either of him or his good opinion.
Theodor AdornoHe who stands aloof runs the risk of believing himself better than others and misusing his critique of society as an ideology for his private interest. While he gropingly forms his own life in the frail image of a true existence, he should never forget its frailty, nor how little the image is a substitute for true life. Against such awareness, however, pulls the momentum of the bourgeois within him.
Theodor Adorno