The Myth of the Machine: The pentagon of powerHarcourt, Brace & World, 1970 - Technology and civilization An in-depth look at the forces that have shaped modern technology since prehistoric times. Mumford criticizes the modern trend of technology, which emphasizes constant, unrestricted expansion, production, and replacement. He contends that these goals work against technical perfection, durability, social efficiency, and overall human satisfaction. Modern technology fails to produce lasting, quality products by using devices such as consumer credit, installment buying, non-functioning and defective designs, built-in fragility, and frequent superficial "fashion" changes. "Without constant enticement by advertising," he writes, "production would slow down and level off to normal replacement demand. Otherwise many products could reach a plateau of efficient design which would call for only minimal changes from year to year." |
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Page 113
... knowledge , “ knowing more and more about less and less , " finally turns into secret knowledge - accessible only to an inner priesthood , whose sense of power is in turn inflated by their privileged command of ' trade ' or official ...
... knowledge , “ knowing more and more about less and less , " finally turns into secret knowledge - accessible only to an inner priesthood , whose sense of power is in turn inflated by their privileged command of ' trade ' or official ...
Page 174
... knowledge . In this area conventional mechanical automation has up to now played only a small part . As has happened again and again in technics , the critical step that led to general automation took place in the organization of knowledge ...
... knowledge . In this area conventional mechanical automation has up to now played only a small part . As has happened again and again in technics , the critical step that led to general automation took place in the organization of knowledge ...
Page 181
... knowledge have created a hundred journals devoted only to abstracts of papers ; and now a further abstract of all these abstracts has been proposed . At the terminal stage of this particular solution , all that will be left of the ...
... knowledge have created a hundred journals devoted only to abstracts of papers ; and now a further abstract of all these abstracts has been proposed . At the terminal stage of this particular solution , all that will be left of the ...
Contents
NEW EXPLORATIONS NEW WORLDS | 3 |
RETURN OF THE SUN GOD | 28 |
THE MECHANIZED WORLD PICTURE | 51 |
Copyright | |
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absolute abstract achieved activities actually already ancient atom automatic automation Bacon become biological Christian civilization Comenius communication contemporary cosmic culture demands Descartes destruction dream economy economy of abundance effect electronic energy environment established evolution existence experience exploration extermination fact fantasies final forces Francis Bacon functions further future Galileo habitat Henry Adams idea ideological immense increase industrial institutions intelligence invention Kepler knowledge labor limited machine man's mass production mechanical world picture megamachine megatechnics ment merely method military mind mode modern moral nature nineteenth century noösphere Norbert Wiener nuclear observed once original Patrick Geddes physical planet plenitude political absolutism population possible potentialities power complex power system practical present progress purpose Pyramid Age quantity reality result scientific scientists social society space subjective symbolic technical Technics and Civilization technocratic tion totalitarian transformation turn ultimate utopia whole York