Adorno

Adorno’s Path to Social Research 267

as a diffuse mass.^131 Thanks to the concentration of power, domination
becomes universal, and thus invisible, so invisible that objective class
antagonisms no longer become manifest. The fact that some dependent
workers had a higher standard of living at that point arose from their
function in contributing to the prosperity of the entire system. The
existing distinction between power and impotence is concealed by the
‘technological veil’ behind which force lies concealed. Adorno thought
of these reflections on class theory as well as the other texts he had
written up to then as contributions to a second stage which would explore
the question of questions, the question of ‘Why mankind, instead of
entering into a truly human condition, is sinking into a new kind of
barbarism.’^132

Between two stools once again: a long road from

New York to Los Angeles

Adorno and his wife were still suffering from the loss of Walter Benjamin
when they found themselves having to come to terms with the separa-
tion from Max and Maidon Horkheimer, to whom they had grown very
close. After some hesitation, Horkheimer had finally decided on the
move to the West Coast so as to continue working from there with
some organizational changes and with some change of emphasis in the
content of his work. Of course, he assumed that the work with Adorno
would continue. But for Adorno it was somewhat irritating to learn that
the plan – and admittedly the plan could change from one day to the
next – was for Pollock, Marcuse and Löwenthal to move too and settle
down in Pacific Palisades close to Horkheimer. Even worse, Horkheimer
showed himself unwilling to exclude them absolutely from taking part
in the great project of a dialectical logic. For Adorno, who was not
free from feelings of jealousy, everything hinged on writing the book
exclusively with Horkheimer, if possible, without the distraction and
the burden of everyday activities on behalf of the institute. In reality,
the scene was set for precisely this development. In spring 1941, the
Horkheimers had moved into the bungalow that he had had built at
13524 D’Este Drive. Katya and Thomas Mann lived just around the
corner, and their house was visible from the Horkheimer house. ‘It
cannot be denied that he has a certain culture quand même’,^133 Hork-
heimer announced to Adorno, who had worshipped the world-famous
writer since his youth. Nearby, Lion Feuchtwanger had acquired a mag-
nificent property. In the vicinity of Hollywood and the villas of the
suburb of Santa Monica, there was a number of other well-known
personalities whom Horkheimer (and later Adorno) knew more or less
well. They included Berthold and Salka Viertel, Bertolt Brecht and
Helene Weigel, Arnold and Gertrud Schoenberg, Charlotte and Wilhelm
Dieterle, and Bruno and Liesel Frank.^134