How can we renew the critique of political economy? A "pro-constructive" procedure that goes beyond Marx

The aim of this study is to construct a methodological path starting from, and moving beyond, Marx's thought. At attempt is undertaken to reassess the crucial issue of a critique of political economy in a time such as ours, when economic theory rules all-powerful and has convinced almost everyone that it is merely a neutral language. How, then, can we recapture Marx's project of a critical political economy? Through a dialogue with the Frankfurt School (especially Horkheimer) and with contemporary economics as well as with cognitivist approaches, I suggest a model of "critical instrumental rationality", which relocates Marxian concerns without in any way minimizing them. Marx's critique thus becomes one theory among others within a model of economic interaction, which, nevertheless, continues to be aimed at Marx's own critical goal: that of a "we" of critical individuals seeking a fully emancipated society.