Comment On Marcuse's "False Need" Theory In "One-Dimension Man"

Since 21st century, the issue of man has drawn the world side attention gradually. People pay attention to the exploration on man, especially on the question about human needs. This question, from different angles, has been explained by many subjects in various degrees. As a result, a great upsurge on it has been set off gradually in the world.The need of human beings is originated from the inward wish and purport, which has the maximal authenticity and plays a decisive role in the human existence and life. Influenced by a variety of social conditions and environments, need and the way to fulfill it----mode of production coordinate with each other and developing gradually, which forms the basis of various social relationships and phenomena, and becomes the key of investigations and studies on human and social phenomena.After the Second World War, capitalistic society assumed a lot of new situations and features with a new round of rapid development. In this condition, the thinkers of Frankford school of Western Marxism advanced series of social critical theories from their special angles. As one of the most significant representative figures of Frankford School, Herbert Marcuse, taking the USA society as an example, revealed and criticized social reality in developed capitalist society, especially the problems on the need of human in the real world.In his book, published in 1964 and named One-Dimension Man, Herbert Marcuse argued that, with rapid development of the industrial civilization in the contemporary the developed capitalist society, the material need of people has already been satisfied; Meanwhile, also makes peace the persons opposing and unsatisfied with the social system so as to make them submit to the ruling class. Consequently, it appeared a total alienation in the capitalist society, in the aspects of science and technology, politics, labor, consumption, culture, thought and even psychic structure. Marcuse tried to uncover social essence that people are dominated and constrained by the present social system through the appearance that is highly free and prosperous. In the result, it made people to reflect upon the real life.From the view of him, Marcuse argued that people and even their need had been in alienation in developed capitalist society, and the need became the "false need". Under the induction of mass media and the control of social politics and technologies, the "false need" had become a new way to control people. The "true need", or the true freedom of people, had almost disappeared.Through comparing the theory of the "false need" by Marcuse with the "need dissimilation" by Marx, this article concerning the "false need" theory reveals its own defect. However, the "false need" theory by Marcuse may have the reference and enlightenment value on analyzing the phenomena of the "false need" in modern society.