The Myth of the Machine, Volume 1An 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." |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 73
Page 60
... beginning was the word ? No : in the beginning , as Goethe saw , was the act : meaningful behavior anticipated meaningful speech , and made it possible . But the only kind of act that could acquire a fresh meaning was one that was ...
... beginning was the word ? No : in the beginning , as Goethe saw , was the act : meaningful behavior anticipated meaningful speech , and made it possible . But the only kind of act that could acquire a fresh meaning was one that was ...
Page 67
... beginning , one must infer , a special quality : they had to do with that which was sacred . By ' sacred ' I mean set apart from pressures of mere self - maintenance and self - preservation by reason of an important con- nection between ...
... beginning , one must infer , a special quality : they had to do with that which was sacred . By ' sacred ' I mean set apart from pressures of mere self - maintenance and self - preservation by reason of an important con- nection between ...
Page 150
... beginning of the vegetative season , in many widely scattered regions of the earth , is an historically attested fact . And though this practice was gradually shifted to animals , fruits or plants with the oncoming of civiliza- tion ...
... beginning of the vegetative season , in many widely scattered regions of the earth , is an historically attested fact . And though this practice was gradually shifted to animals , fruits or plants with the oncoming of civiliza- tion ...
Contents
PROLOGUE | 3 |
THE MINDFULNESS OF MAN | 14 |
IN THE DREAMTIME LONG AGO | 48 |
Copyright | |
12 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
abstract achieved activities agriculture ancestors ancient animal Aurignacian became beginning Benedictine Bertrand Gille brain Bushmen Çatal Hüyük cave cave paintings century cities civilization command complex consciousness cosmic creature cultivation divine domestication dream earliest economy economy of abundance effective effort Egypt Egyptian environment established esthetic evidence existence fact functions gods Homo sapiens human culture hunter hunting images institution interpretation Iron Age king kingship labor language later Leonardo London machine Magdalenian magic means megamachine ment merely mesolithic Mesopotamia military mind mode modern myth nature needed neolithic Oakes Ames observation once organization original paintings paleolithic paleolithic art pattern performed physical plants play possible practice primitive production rational religion ritual royal sacred sacrifice sexual significant social society species speech stone Sumer Sumerian survival symbolic technical thousand tion tool-making traits village watermill weapons whole words York