Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Beacon Press (1968), Edition: Later Printing, 260 pages
Description
One of the most important texts of modern times, Herbert Marcuse's analysis and image of a one-dimensional man in a one-dimensional society has shaped many young radicals' way of seeing and experiencing life. Published in 1964, it fast became an ideological bible for the emergent New Left. As Douglas Kellner notes in his introduction, Marcuse's greatest work was a 'damning indictment of contemporary Western societies, capitalist and communist.' Yet it also expressed the hopes of a radical philosopher that human freedom and happiness could be greatly expanded beyond the regimented thought and behaviour prevalent in established society. For those who held the reigns of power Marcuse's call to arms threatened civilization to its very core. For many others however, it represented a freedom hitherto unimaginable.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member McCaine
This is Marcuse's most famous work and one that was a major influence on and during the student revolts all over the European continent of 1968. Many of the catchphrases of that time, such as "repressive tolerance" and the like, are derived directly from Marcuse. He has since lost much of his
His main thesis is that modern man has become one-dimensional due to the totalitarian, all-encompassing exercise of power by the entrenched capitalist class. While this of itself is not such a bad idea, though certainly romanticizing and exaggerating reality, his approach to explaining and attacking it leaves very much to be desired. Marcuse overuses empty or unexplained phrases endlessly (like "cutting off perspectives through an overwhelming ossified concreteness of imagery" and similar things) while at the same time hardly making use of any prior thought or philosophy on the subject at all. This makes the impression of much ranting and little content. Even worse is his general laziness as a thinker - he never actually bothers to explain why such a full-spectrum dominance has occurred or how he wants to prove its existence, he merely asserts it and then goes on about the manifold bad effects it has.
Rather bizarre in this context, and perhaps even nihilistic, is his general dislike of what he perceives as "rationality". He only uses this word in negative contexts (particularly in the context of industrial expansion) and seems to consider it the primary form of "one-dimensional thinking", affected by the symbolism of capitalism. Now it is one thing to say that the fashionable concept of rationalism is false and ill-founded, but to reject relying on rational processes altogether as he seems to do is a bit too much.
To put it bluntly, everything Marcuse has written in this book has also been written in, say, Debord's "The Society of the Spectacle", and then in half as many words and quite more philosophically coherent. The early Marcuse (of Eros and Civilization) was much better; this book warrants no more interest than a purely antiquarian historical one.
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popularity and audience, and in my view, quite deservedly so. His main thesis is that modern man has become one-dimensional due to the totalitarian, all-encompassing exercise of power by the entrenched capitalist class. While this of itself is not such a bad idea, though certainly romanticizing and exaggerating reality, his approach to explaining and attacking it leaves very much to be desired. Marcuse overuses empty or unexplained phrases endlessly (like "cutting off perspectives through an overwhelming ossified concreteness of imagery" and similar things) while at the same time hardly making use of any prior thought or philosophy on the subject at all. This makes the impression of much ranting and little content. Even worse is his general laziness as a thinker - he never actually bothers to explain why such a full-spectrum dominance has occurred or how he wants to prove its existence, he merely asserts it and then goes on about the manifold bad effects it has.
Rather bizarre in this context, and perhaps even nihilistic, is his general dislike of what he perceives as "rationality". He only uses this word in negative contexts (particularly in the context of industrial expansion) and seems to consider it the primary form of "one-dimensional thinking", affected by the symbolism of capitalism. Now it is one thing to say that the fashionable concept of rationalism is false and ill-founded, but to reject relying on rational processes altogether as he seems to do is a bit too much.
To put it bluntly, everything Marcuse has written in this book has also been written in, say, Debord's "The Society of the Spectacle", and then in half as many words and quite more philosophically coherent. The early Marcuse (of Eros and Civilization) was much better; this book warrants no more interest than a purely antiquarian historical one.
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LibraryThing member noonaut
One-Dimensional Man is one of those unique books who grow into their predictions.
Marcuse examined the popular culture and technological achievements of his time and correctly saw their underlying logic -- that of the 'rational', 'scientific' way of managing society, which was not solely a tool of
This way of management, no less totalitarian than Mussolini's Italy or Nazi Germany uses the manipulation of language, a cowed, self abasing intelligentsia and complete administration of society to maintain its indefinite dominance and nip any attempt at autonomy in the bud. The products we buy, the television (and now internet) we view and the language we use all imprison our minds in a way more complete than any fanatic or fascist could imagine. One can indeed trap more flies with honey than vinegar.
Fifty years later, the fantastic success of technology at producing material goods and at achieving mass communication has gone on unabated, and we are still buying into the insane, dichotomous logic of perpetual war -- first with the Soviet Union, now with the more nebulous enemy of 'terror' -- of the need for more and more consumption of limited resources, of less and less real freedom. Incessant attacks on Imagination and the humanities for not being 'realistic' or 'rational' continue, the biosphere is in as dire straits as ever it was... and for what?
Today it is difficult to read this book as anything but a prescient jeremiad, albeit with more hope than it ought to have.
Marcuse examined the popular culture and technological achievements of his time and correctly saw their underlying logic -- that of the 'rational', 'scientific' way of managing society, which was not solely a tool of
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the Western elite but had also been adopted by the Soviet Bloc. This way of management, no less totalitarian than Mussolini's Italy or Nazi Germany uses the manipulation of language, a cowed, self abasing intelligentsia and complete administration of society to maintain its indefinite dominance and nip any attempt at autonomy in the bud. The products we buy, the television (and now internet) we view and the language we use all imprison our minds in a way more complete than any fanatic or fascist could imagine. One can indeed trap more flies with honey than vinegar.
Fifty years later, the fantastic success of technology at producing material goods and at achieving mass communication has gone on unabated, and we are still buying into the insane, dichotomous logic of perpetual war -- first with the Soviet Union, now with the more nebulous enemy of 'terror' -- of the need for more and more consumption of limited resources, of less and less real freedom. Incessant attacks on Imagination and the humanities for not being 'realistic' or 'rational' continue, the biosphere is in as dire straits as ever it was... and for what?
Today it is difficult to read this book as anything but a prescient jeremiad, albeit with more hope than it ought to have.
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LibraryThing member P_S_Patrick
One Dimensional Man is an indictment of Industrial Society, ie the one you probably live in if you are reading this review. It is a criticism of the effects that Industrial Society and Capitalism have on man, the way he thinks, lives, and speaks. The general ills that are diagnosed include
Much of what is said in this book does hold up to scrutiny - the complaints against the effects on man of technology, modern economies, and industry, seem to be valid and more in evidence now than when this book was written (though very few concrete examples of anything are given in this book).
My complaint however is that the book is not easy to read, and most of what has been written here has been put more plainly and/or concisely in other works written before (Orwell's 1984,and Hoggart's Uses of Literacy) or after (Kaczynski's Industrial Society and It's Future, and Lorenz's Civilised Man's Eight Deadly Sins). Marcuse has a very particular way of writing, and the easiest way I found to get my head around the meaning of the sentences was to imagine an impassioned and charismatic political demagogue reading them out loud at the top of their voice at a left-wing political rally, to determine which words in the sentence needed to be emphasized to illuminate the meaning. This is of course partly unfair as the arguments here are generally fair and rational, but the words have seemingly been chosen more to sound impressive than to effectively communicate ideas. The blame for this is partly his own, and partly the framework of political philosophy he was immersed in.
Though the book raises many important concerns over the effects that most modern societies have on man, and for this reason will be of interest to many readers, it is difficult to recommend when the main points are better expressed elsewhere.
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consumerism, social control via corporations or government, soft restrictions on freedom via brainwashing of a kind, environmental damage, and repression of creativity. He talks about history, technological rationality as a cause of the ills, as well as vague solutions of a socialist nature.Much of what is said in this book does hold up to scrutiny - the complaints against the effects on man of technology, modern economies, and industry, seem to be valid and more in evidence now than when this book was written (though very few concrete examples of anything are given in this book).
My complaint however is that the book is not easy to read, and most of what has been written here has been put more plainly and/or concisely in other works written before (Orwell's 1984,and Hoggart's Uses of Literacy) or after (Kaczynski's Industrial Society and It's Future, and Lorenz's Civilised Man's Eight Deadly Sins). Marcuse has a very particular way of writing, and the easiest way I found to get my head around the meaning of the sentences was to imagine an impassioned and charismatic political demagogue reading them out loud at the top of their voice at a left-wing political rally, to determine which words in the sentence needed to be emphasized to illuminate the meaning. This is of course partly unfair as the arguments here are generally fair and rational, but the words have seemingly been chosen more to sound impressive than to effectively communicate ideas. The blame for this is partly his own, and partly the framework of political philosophy he was immersed in.
Though the book raises many important concerns over the effects that most modern societies have on man, and for this reason will be of interest to many readers, it is difficult to recommend when the main points are better expressed elsewhere.
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LibraryThing member Fledgist
Marcuse's examination of advanced industrial societies in the post-War world. Still holds up after nearly half a century, though it does snow some creakiness at the seams.
LibraryThing member jgoodwll
This is one of the most difficult books I have read and most of it probably needs a training in philosophy. I suspect a lot of its influence was mediated through reviews and summaries. It is clear that he thinks that the proletariat has been repressed by new methods of control and that there is
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more hope in the lumpen-proletariat. Show Less
Original publication date
1964
Physical description
260 p.; 7.8 inches