Critical theory essentially argues that the material condition of the world should inform our theology and our thoughts. A basis for this materialist understanding of the theory is that individuals' lived experiences inform their understanding of the world around them (Bartel, 2025). Not only does critical theory seeks to understand the world around us, but it specifically seeks emancipation: "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it" (Marx, 1956).

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Critical theory poses that the world isn't the way it is because it is inevitably that way. Instead, "the world is the way it is because people have made decisions about how power will be distributed, how resources will be distributed, how the earth will be treated, [and] how human beings will be in relationship with each other" (Bartel, 2025). This means that we are capable of changing the world, as we have the agency and power to change the world around us. The current structure of the world is not inevitable, nor is it the consequence of human nature. It was powerful people who constructed the world we exist in today, however we as people also have the power to change the world for the better. These relations of power are a vital aspect of critical theory. The distribution of power in todays world was decided by people; it is not unavoidable or predestined, and this intentional unequal distribution of power is exactly what critical theory seeks to address and critique (Bartel, 2025). This theory also seeks to provide a "map" for decreasing oppression and increasing equality, as the goal is to critique relations of power in our systems and institutions, and then fight that inequality (Bartel, 2025).

 

While a major goal of critical theory is to critique and improve social structures,  another important aspect of the theory is to critique what's within your own mind, as what is in your mind "isn't your own" (Bartel, 2025). The theory encourages us to be critical of the world around us, but also to be critical of how the world around us has shaped our attitudes, beliefs, and thoughts. This emphasizes the role of education in critical theory and the entire reason we should pursue an education. We engage in education because "we cannot change what we don't understand" (Bartel, 2025). Critical theory encourages us to first critically understand the world, and then to change it for the betterment of all people.