Marcuse and ‘Technological Rationality’

As we move into an era of unchartered technological growth, it is helpful to revisit the theoretical framework of Herbert Marcuse, who posits thatany debates around the organisation of technical resources must be prefaced with an acceptance that technology is simply the tool of ideology, whether established or revolutionary.

Born in Berlin in 1898, and moving to the USA with the rise of Hitler, Marcuse’s literary fame did not materialise until the 1960s.

In 1964 he published perhaps his most famous workOne-Dimensional Man, which became an inspirational text at the heart of the global ‘New Left’ movement. Unlike many of his academic Marxist contemporaries, Marcuse identified himself closely with the protests of 1968, and became a central figure-head of what he coined ‘The Great Refusal’.

As the 20th century progressed Marcuse, like almost all Marxian literature, fell out of favour amongst the mainstream of academic discourse. The…