The almost insoluble task is to let neither the power of others, nor our own powerlessness, stupefy us.

Adorno frames political and moral lucidity as a near-impossible discipline under conditions of domination. The “power of others” can numb people through intimidation, propaganda, and the sheer weight of institutions; yet “our own powerlessness” can also stupefy, producing resignation, cynicism, or a retreat into private life. The task, then, is to resist both forms of paralysis: not to be hypnotized by authority, and not to let despair at one’s limited agency become an excuse for thoughtlessness. The line captures a central Adornian tension—maintaining critical consciousness without either capitulating to power or romanticizing one’s capacity to overcome it.