This book analyzes power, especially how power is distributed in Fascist political states, how power is distributed in capitalist states and their markets, and how power changes the availability of intellectual enlightenment (for the preservation of power).
The book begins with two twin arguments: "Myth is already enlightenment," and "Enlightenment refers to mythology." Adorno and Horkheimer take these arguments and use them to analyze the rise of the Nazi party in German (it was published in 1944). They say that the rise of Fascism will bring the downfall of publicly available enlightenment as people's lives become more and more dysfunctional, and as the Fascist state manipulates the people away from narrative, myth, and enlightenment.
Then they turn to analyze the school called in Philosophy called Logical Positivism, since they were also rising to a position of philosophical domination over the universities of Europe. They mention Wittgenstein, and they comment on his analytical opinions on language and thought. They do call him a Logical Positivist, which is technically incorrect, but it's important to note that Wittgenstein actually changes his mind on many things throughout his career, so he doesn't really belong to any school at all.
Ultimately, this leads to a discussion of ethics. Needless to say, Adorno is unconvinced of the post-modernism that seems to be slowly infecting his world. He tries to explore these themes by conversing with the writings of Nietzsche, especially his Genealogy of Morals. After some conversation about the philosophical underpinnings of human ethics, they return to the issue of enlightenment, returning also to their argument that narrative is the force of enlightenment (through mythology).
They argue that there will be a "cultural industry" that uses art as a tool in the efforts of financial gain and business interests. He argues that capitalism will face serious problems as enlightenment is obfuscated by their popular entertainment.
