Critical theory

Critical Theory has become an increasingly important source of insights for accounting researchers associated with the critical accounting project. Although the Critical Theory perspective is only one of many ways of seeing associated with the task of promoting greater awareness among all those involved in accounting as to the conditions and consequences of their practices, it exhibits a number of features that identify it as the most appealing. Of particular significance are its twin underpinnings in social theory and social philosophy, a characteristic it shares with the tradition of Marxist thought from which it originated. This ensures that the Critical Theory perspective has the capacity to provide penetrating critiques of accounting practices. Beyond this, the Critical Theory perspective has a defining affinity with interventionist politics, which in recent times has informed calls for the development of a mode of enabling accounting designed to deliver social betterment.