Although unsatisfied with Adorno and Horkeimer's thought presented in Dialectic of Enlightenment, Habermas shares the view that, in the form of instrumental rationality, the era of modernity marks a move away from the liberation of enlightenment and toward a new form of enslavement.
Meskipun tidak puas dengan Adorno dan Horkeimer dalam pemikiran yang disajikan di Dialectic of Enlightenment, Habermas berbagi pandangan bahwa, dalam bentuk rasionalitas instrumental, era modernitas menandai pindahnya pembebasan pencerahan menuju ke bentuk perbudakan baru.