Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Boston: Beacon Press 1971
Description
In this classic work, Herbert Marcuse takes as his starting point Freud's statement that civilization is based on the permanent subjugation of the human instincts, his reconstruction of the prehistory of mankind - to an interpretation of the basic trends of western civilization, stressing the philosophical and sociological implications.
User reviews
LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
A re-examination of Freud and an early call to the philosophy of the 1960's.
That line may not do this book any favours for, whilst it is a cry for 60's thinking, it is also a studied work. I must have read the book three times, as I read and re-read each section to get a grip on Marcuse's thought
This may be a pre-hippie tome, but it also has things to say about today: particularly, upon the subject of automation and how we live in a world where most real work can be done by machines and AI. Marcuse is alert enough to realise that the outcome may be more time without the drudgery of labour but, that it might also lead to a society festooned with unnecessary made up jobs, just to keep a Capitalist system functioning - and that rings so true...
That line may not do this book any favours for, whilst it is a cry for 60's thinking, it is also a studied work. I must have read the book three times, as I read and re-read each section to get a grip on Marcuse's thought
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pattern. It was worth it.This may be a pre-hippie tome, but it also has things to say about today: particularly, upon the subject of automation and how we live in a world where most real work can be done by machines and AI. Marcuse is alert enough to realise that the outcome may be more time without the drudgery of labour but, that it might also lead to a society festooned with unnecessary made up jobs, just to keep a Capitalist system functioning - and that rings so true...
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Language
Original publication date
1955
Physical description
xxviii, 277 p.; 23 cm
ISBN
087015547
Local notes
With a new preface by the author.