Critical Theory and the Death of Objective Truth The Frankfurt School’s Legacy

Imagine walking into a math class and hearing the teacher say, “Math is racist because it assumes one correct answer.” Or a historian tells you, “There are no objective facts, only perspectives.” Or a journalist claims, “It’s not about reporting truth—it’s about advocating for justice.”

Sounds absurd, right? But these aren’t hypotheticals. These are real arguments being made in schools, media, and academic circles today. Let’s break them down.

Math is Racist?

In 2021, Oregon’s Department of Education promoted a training program called A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction, which argued that focusing on getting the “right answer” in math is a form of “white supremacy culture.”

Let that sink in. The idea that 2+2=4 is now controversial.

Seattle Public Schools went even further, proposing that math should be reexamined because it has been used to “oppress” marginalized communities. Meanwhile, University of Illinois professor Rochelle Gutierrez argued that mathematics is a system of “unearned privilege” because most mathematicians throughout history have been white.

But here’s the problem: math works because it’s objective. If an engineer designs a bridge based on “multiple perspectives” instead of correct calculations, that bridge collapses. Math isn’t racist—it’s reality.

Now, let’s talk about history. There’s a growing belief that “there are no objective facts, only perspectives.”

Postmodernist historian Keith Jenkins argued in Re-Thinking History that history is just a subjective construct. Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s Silencing the Past claims that history is dictated by those in power, not by actual events.