Was reading the intro of One Dimensional Man…I like the name…”the paralysis of criticism: society without criticism’….
Two judgments he makes:
“That human life is worth living, or rather can be and ought to be made worth living”…his underlies all intellectual effort
“Specific possibilities exist for the amelioration of human life and specific ways and means of realizing theses possibilities”…everybody’s working towards something they perceive as better…nobody wants to strive and plan for the worst…
he says that two forces exist in ‘advance industrial society’…it is capable of a lot of change (you could attribute this to many factors like individualism, multiple channels of communication, technological advancement, education…) BUT has been capable of containing this (possible) change ..
“This containment of social change is perhaps the most singular achievement of advanced industrial society …”
why is that so?
Coz this society has created a “technical apparatus of production and distribution” which is ‘totalitarian’ thus it not only determines “the socially needed occupations, skills, and attitudes, but also individual needs and aspirations”
Thus, we can no longer see technology as ‘neutral’…
This is one of his coolest words “technology serves to institute new, more effective and more pleasant forms of social control and cohesion”…
Look at the word ‘pleasant’…that’s amazing!! (I know it sounds like an assumption that social control is negative…but most of it is unnecessary)
I know its like Foucault…but he wrote Discipline in Punish in 1975…while Marcuse wrote this in 1964…don’t know why Foucault is given so much ‘whoa’…(MS Word cant recognize Marcuse…but Foucault it knows..
And remember…technology is a political instrument…its controlled and owned
in the hands of few..it has created as division in society…
that’s why Marcuse says, “technological rationality has become political rationality”. beautiful; how he brings out the nexus between the objective and subjective...neutral and affective…
did you know that Apple toolbars have an American flag on them??..i just found out!!
Two judgments he makes:
“That human life is worth living, or rather can be and ought to be made worth living”…his underlies all intellectual effort
“Specific possibilities exist for the amelioration of human life and specific ways and means of realizing theses possibilities”…everybody’s working towards something they perceive as better…nobody wants to strive and plan for the worst…
he says that two forces exist in ‘advance industrial society’…it is capable of a lot of change (you could attribute this to many factors like individualism, multiple channels of communication, technological advancement, education…) BUT has been capable of containing this (possible) change ..
“This containment of social change is perhaps the most singular achievement of advanced industrial society …”
why is that so?
Coz this society has created a “technical apparatus of production and distribution” which is ‘totalitarian’ thus it not only determines “the socially needed occupations, skills, and attitudes, but also individual needs and aspirations”
Thus, we can no longer see technology as ‘neutral’…
This is one of his coolest words “technology serves to institute new, more effective and more pleasant forms of social control and cohesion”…
Look at the word ‘pleasant’…that’s amazing!! (I know it sounds like an assumption that social control is negative…but most of it is unnecessary)
I know its like Foucault…but he wrote Discipline in Punish in 1975…while Marcuse wrote this in 1964…don’t know why Foucault is given so much ‘whoa’…(MS Word cant recognize Marcuse…but Foucault it knows..
And remember…technology is a political instrument…its controlled and owned
in the hands of few..it has created as division in society…
that’s why Marcuse says, “technological rationality has become political rationality”. beautiful; how he brings out the nexus between the objective and subjective...neutral and affective…
did you know that Apple toolbars have an American flag on them??..i just found out!!
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