One Dimensional Man (4)

Herbert Marcuse is one of the most well-known 1960s "critical theorists" and a member of the very influential Frankfurt School of philosophers. Heavily influenced by Marx and Freud, his "One Dimensional Man" (1964) was one of his most successful works and is credited as a core text driving the '60s "counterculture" in the West.

Surprisingly like de Tocqueville, Marcuse suggests the liberal system, instead of abolishing repression, just creates its own more subtle forms of it, largely by promoting "false needs". He also criticizes the observed development of communist states as anything but liberating, and ponders the role of technology in supporting repression in both types of government.

We had a lot of interest and discussion in ODM last session, and also it's evident that the later chapters are where Marcuse actually dives into the more philosophical side of his thinking (as opposed to cultural critique). So we will continue with the book for a bit longer.

Let's try to get through Chapters 5 & 6... and then we'll assess where to go from there.

A pdf of the text is available here. Try to use this edition so we are all the same page (literally). See you soon...