A leading philosopher of the New Left and follower of Karl Marx, Herbert Marcuse became popular among student leftist radicals in the latter half of the twentieth century, especially after rebellions at New York City's Columbia University, the Sorbonne in Paris, and in West Berlin (1968). Despite his student following, he disapproved of campus demonstrations. He said, "I still consider the American university an oasis of free speech....Any student movement should try to protect this citadel...[but] try to radicalize the departments within the university." Marcuse's writings reflect a discontent with modern society and the necessity of revolution, based on Marxist theories.

Herbert Marcuse was born in Berlin, Germany, on July 19, 1898, and in 1922 earned a PhD from Freiburg University, where he joined the Social Democratic Party. Fleeing the coming of the Nazis, he emigrated to the United States in 1934. He taught at Columbia University, joined the Institute of...