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Abstract
“Critique” is a core concept of contemporary social theory and synonym of independent thinking against mainstream positions. A generic definition of it can however cause misunderstandings and lead to ideological uses, where one risks to assume the philosophical foundations that they apparently want to criticize, in particular those worldviews based on the concept of abstract individual in its different variants. By framing this concept in the context of Marx’s theory of the capitalistic mode of production, and, in particular, through a correct understanding of its theory of fetishism, it is possible to better define the social actors that promote a “critical” approach: not abstract individuals, but classes, outlined by their function in the structure of total social reproduction.