Developing a concept briefly introduced in Counterrevolution and Revolt, Marcuse here addresses the shortcomings of Marxist aesthetic theory and explores a dialectical aesthetic in which art functions as the conscience of society. Marcuse argues that art is the only form or expression that can take up where religion and philosophy fail and contends that aesthetics offers the last refuge for two-dimensional criticism in a one-dimensional society.

Best known as author of One-Dimensional Man and Eros and Civilization, Herbert Marcuse (1896-1979) was a founder of the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He was until his reitrement professor of philosophy as the University of California, San Diego.