Abstract: The ‘repoliticization’ of economic processes and the emergence of neoliberal capitalism which imbibes a disorganized and flexible working structure that enables workers to freely choose their own working time and location are some of the substantial changes in the landscape of capitalism. Given the demand for a paradigm that could provide a penetrating critique of the maladies of contemporary capitalism, this paper traces the evolution of the intellectual history of the critiques of capitalism from Karl Marx to the Frankfurt School represented by Jürgen Habermas and Axel Honneth. It argues that Honneth’s paradigm for social critique anchored in recognition offers a corrective to Marx’s critique of political economy and to Habermas’ focus on system and lifeworld distinction. It offers a better critique on neoliberal capitalism by providing a normative vocabulary that critically shows how the person is affected by these transformations, even if capitalism has adjusted its means for capital realization.