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." |
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Page 142
... continued to range abroad in search of game or fish . Daryll Forde points out that among surviving peoples living under much the same conditions " patches on which wild yams grew abundantly were protected , partially cleared , and ...
... continued to range abroad in search of game or fish . Daryll Forde points out that among surviving peoples living under much the same conditions " patches on which wild yams grew abundantly were protected , partially cleared , and ...
Page 167
... continued to be the more sympathetic , lovable , and popular , there is no doubt which were the more powerful . The regularity and order that had first come in with neolithic grinding and polishing , and became visible in geometric ...
... continued to be the more sympathetic , lovable , and popular , there is no doubt which were the more powerful . The regularity and order that had first come in with neolithic grinding and polishing , and became visible in geometric ...
Page 213
... continued to be the model for every civilized society , long after the building of these geometric tombs ceased to be fashionable . At the top stood a minority , swollen by pride and power , headed by the king and his supporting ...
... continued to be the model for every civilized society , long after the building of these geometric tombs ceased to be fashionable . At the top stood a minority , swollen by pride and power , headed by the king and his supporting ...
Contents
PROLOGUE | 3 |
THE MINDFULNESS OF MAN | 14 |
IN THE DREAMTIME LONG AGO | 48 |
Copyright | |
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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