A second generation member of the Critical Theory Frankfurt School.
He wanted to restore some of the credit taken away by other critical scholars to past theorists such as Freud and Marx, and re-examined the theories with the goal of modern application.
Habermas' three main interests were:
Work (technical interest)
Language (social interest)
Power (emancipatory interest)
Need 'Communicative Action' between members of a society to advance (not a revolution like Marx says)
Habermas says that power will lead to distorted communication, which must somehow be counteracted
If the people are aware of the bias, they can use emancipatory power to counteract the bias
To do this, free speech is required, and everyone must have an equal opportunity to speak
The contribution to society must be equal from parts of society (not one-sided)