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 45
... Kepler's ' Dream , ' which anticipated by more than three centuries the world in which we are now actually living : its empirical knowledge , its practical devices , its compulsive drives , its mystic aspirations — and finally , most ...
... Kepler's ' Dream , ' which anticipated by more than three centuries the world in which we are now actually living : its empirical knowledge , its practical devices , its compulsive drives , its mystic aspirations — and finally , most ...
Page 47
... Kepler impatiently anticipated , is far less surprising than the fact that it took possession of Kepler's mind at such an early date . Kepler , steeped in sun worship , seems to have realized that powers derived from the Sun God would ...
... Kepler impatiently anticipated , is far less surprising than the fact that it took possession of Kepler's mind at such an early date . Kepler , steeped in sun worship , seems to have realized that powers derived from the Sun God would ...
Page 48
... Kepler's realistically fanciful description of a moon flight , which he hopefully thought would be a mere matter of hours , is his description of the kind of organisms that might , under the permanent conditions of extreme cold and ...
... Kepler's realistically fanciful description of a moon flight , which he hopefully thought would be a mere matter of hours , is his description of the kind of organisms that might , under the permanent conditions of extreme cold and ...
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absolute abstract achieved activities actually already ancient atom automatic automation Bacon become biological Christian civilization Comenius contemporary cosmic culture Descartes destruction dream economy economy of abundance effect effort electronic energy environment established evolution existence experience exploration extermination fact fantasies final forces Francis Bacon functions further future Galileo habitat Henry Adams idea ideology 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 myth nature nineteenth century noösphere Norbert Wiener nuclear observed once original Patrick Geddes physical planet plenitude political absolutism 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