On The History And Logic Of Marcuse’s Critique Of Technological Totalitarianism

Critique of technological totalitarianism is the core of Marcuse’s thoughts in the 1960s, but this idea was not unexpected, but has its own history and logic.During the 1930s and 1940s Marcuse had began to concern the relationship between totalitarianism and technology. During this period, mainly Marcuse equivalent the totalitarian to the fascism, and held that it is the continuation and development of liberalism, and that the positivism prevalent at the same time also played a role in fueling it. Meanwhile, Marcuse first thought that technology provides a tool for the fascist terror, and then that distortion and erosion of human nature by technological rationality is its root.In the 1950s, talitarianism was regarded from the perspective of psychoanalysis and not as a synonym for fascism, while it is understood to be the personal psychological depression,at the same time, and that society as a whole was also found emerged morbid characteristics:repressive civilization. Meanwhile, it is from the perspective of psychoanalysis to understand science and technology. They are orderly release of destructive instincts. the source of repression is the existence of destructive instincts,and technology is the one of them, and as a result,i t should be responsible for the disease of the whole society. But Marcuse clearly recognized that in advanced industrial society, the technical community, psychoanalytic theory does not applicable.Thus, in the sixties, Marcuse understood the advanced industrial society from phenomenological perspective, and regarded the science and technology as a priori of modern society. No technology, no technological society. Therefore, the social phenomenon of totalitarianism-comfortable but not free lifestyle-should also be traced back to the technology. Meanwhile, technology as the root of totalitarianism means that it makes the value system of pre-technological society as its own a priori,that is,science and technology are developed under the principle of overcoming the shortage, the pursuit of livelihood. Therefore, to overcome the technological totalitarianism, we must reject the overall value system to make a living; must cultivate new sensibility to form a truly free system of values. In addition, because it has the basic stance and historical task of Marxism:criticize and transcend the capitalism; while taking a phenomenological approach to achieve this goal. Therefore, we concluded that Marcuse’s theory of critique of technological totalitarianism is phenomenological Marxism.