The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - PREVIEW： Book Club #63 ｜ Herbert Marcuse's One Dimensional Man

00:00:00.000 Hi there, folks. Welcome to this book club of the Lotus Eaters, where I'm joined by Stelios

00:00:04.200 to discuss Herbert Marcuse's One-Dimensional Man.

00:00:08.400 Now, this is a book that has a kind of legend about it,

00:00:12.680 because Herbert Marcuse was part of the Frankfurt School, and everyone

00:00:15.900 thinks the Frankfurt School was trying to overthrow Western Civilization.

00:00:19.820 And that's only because they were. That's exactly what the Frankfurt School was trying to do.

00:00:23.440 And so, as part of my effort to domesticate them,

00:00:26.200 so we understand them, so we're not intimidated by them, so we can move past them,

00:00:29.240 I'm reading all of their work, and it's dense, to say the least.

00:00:34.500 They are very, um, I was going to say thorough, but that's not quite the right word.

00:00:42.240 Intransigent writers. They, in many ways, write to be deliberately impenetrable,

00:00:47.920 but they are being very specific about the terms that they're using.

00:00:52.520 So, they are deliberate writers.

00:00:55.440 So, anyway, One-Dimensional Man was published in 1963,

00:01:00.300 and Marcuse is trying to drive towards the liberal ideal,

00:01:04.720 because, of course, he's some sort of uber-communist.

00:01:07.480 And he observes that capitalist Western societies are, in fact,

00:01:11.180 not really any better than Soviet industrial societies

00:01:14.300 when it comes to arriving at the end goal of liberalism,

00:01:18.800 which is communist.

00:01:20.460 And he points out that, yeah, the Soviet Union

00:01:25.380 and the capitalist West, the industrial societies,

00:01:29.580 in much the same way as Julius Evola points out,

00:01:32.080 they're kind of two prongs of the same beast.

00:01:35.180 And, like Evola, he actually wants to overthrow them,

00:01:38.100 but for different reasons.

00:01:39.580 So, there's a convergence there.

00:01:41.840 Interesting.

00:01:42.540 Okay.

00:01:42.860 So, for everyone's sake,

00:01:45.140 I'm going to wear the diplomat's earpiece,

00:01:47.260 and whenever you speak,

00:01:49.640 you say the L word,

00:01:51.000 I'm going to translate it into social liberalism,

00:01:54.040 in my mind.

00:01:54.740 But, okay with that.

00:01:55.900 So, the critical theory school,

00:01:59.120 or the Frankfurt theory school,

00:02:00.420 has the reputation you mentioned.

00:02:02.380 And I think it's a reputation that they have earned.

00:02:07.200 Yeah, they deserve it.

00:02:08.280 It's not unfounded.

00:02:09.180 They totally deserve it.

00:02:10.580 And my exposure to it isn't that much,

00:02:16.000 because I have studied and being trained much more

00:02:20.160 in the analytic philosophy side of things,

00:02:22.620 although I don't consider myself an analytic thinker.

00:02:25.600 But, I really think that it's just,

00:02:30.980 they're constantly whining,

00:02:32.580 and they don't give solutions.

00:02:34.460 It's like someone who constantly criticizes

00:02:37.140 the imperfections of the world.

00:02:40.320 And, okay, I mean, Captain Obvious was here,

00:02:43.160 to be polite and not say the other expression.

00:02:46.060 But, yeah, it's just some people who constantly tell us

00:02:50.100 how imperfect the world is.

00:02:52.040 So, I don't think they're offering something positive.

00:02:55.680 Well, it's much more nuanced, much more thorough.

00:02:59.780 It's not that they are just mere critics pointing out,

00:03:03.120 oh, here's a problem with the world.

00:03:04.920 The level of their analysis is very high.

00:03:08.580 And these guys were obviously really, really clever.

00:03:12.860 And accurately diagnose some of the problems

00:03:16.480 of modern society that I am personally

00:03:18.300 also very concerned about.

00:03:20.060 So, I guess let's just dive into it.

00:03:22.480 So, it's in three broad parts.

00:03:25.640 First one being the one-dimensional society.

00:03:28.020 Then, the second one being one-dimensional thought.

00:03:32.280 And the third part is the sort of,

00:03:34.740 what could the alternatives be?

00:03:36.500 Chance of alternatives.

00:03:37.940 And so, in the first part,

00:03:39.620 the Marqueser is describing the features

00:03:42.640 of the repressive one-dimensional society.

00:03:45.040 Now, we'll get more into what makes

00:03:48.760 a one-dimensional society a one-dimensional society.

00:03:51.260 But there's a general,

00:03:52.960 and we see this in Marx as well,

00:03:54.620 a kind of lament of a lost feudal order

00:03:57.480 because that was a two-dimensional society.

00:04:00.520 You had the laboring class,

00:04:01.980 and then you had the aristocratic class.

00:04:03.660 And the aristocratic class were capable

00:04:05.500 of creating high culture.

00:04:06.900 And when this gets merged down

00:04:09.420 into the sort of flat capitalist or Soviet society,

00:04:12.920 this dimension is lost.

00:04:15.000 And they realize the irony of that as well.

00:04:18.560 I personally don't think that Marx was lamenting

00:04:21.860 the loss of the feudal order

00:04:23.780 because his dream is a classless society.

00:04:27.160 See, I don't read Marx quite like that.

00:04:29.060 But if I think that the judgmental language

00:04:33.040 that he uses in the Communist Manifesto

00:04:34.940 is a lament or makes it a lament

00:04:38.560 for the lost beauty of the aristocratic society,

00:04:42.040 and what Marques is trying to do

00:04:43.440 is prevent everyone from moving

00:04:45.400 into the serf laborer category.

00:04:47.600 And he ideally,

00:04:48.960 and this is a steel man of his position,

00:04:51.380 ideally wants everyone to move up

00:04:53.740 into the aristocratic society

00:04:55.300 so they can enjoy

00:04:56.880 the second dimension of higher culture,

00:04:59.980 whether that's possible or not.

00:05:02.580 It's like Stalin,

00:05:03.760 who was riding first class on the train

00:05:05.840 saying,

00:05:06.420 I hope everyone could have a first class ticket.

00:05:10.300 Yeah, well, yeah.

00:05:11.420 And because they are in some way

00:05:15.760 sort of on the continuum of liberalism,

00:05:19.320 they come,

00:05:21.400 they originate from the perspective

00:05:23.320 that this is surely open to everyone,

00:05:26.380 but of course we know

00:05:27.580 that not everyone is capable

00:05:29.460 of the same intellectual capacity.

00:05:32.600 And so there's a universalism to it

00:05:37.120 that belies how obviously nonsense

00:05:41.320 this is going to be.

00:05:42.800 Like the higher class,

00:05:45.000 the higher arts

00:05:45.800 are not going to be available to everyone

00:05:47.880 merely on an intellectual capacity

00:05:49.500 to be able to experience them

00:05:51.060 in the way that he does.

00:05:52.940 But Mark Hughes is obviously

00:05:53.980 an incredibly intelligent man.

00:05:55.720 And I find one of the flaws

00:05:57.380 of highly intelligent people

00:05:58.500 is they don't habituate themselves

00:06:02.320 to model the world

00:06:03.300 from another person's perspective,

00:06:04.780 including the conceptual narrowing

00:06:07.920 of what that person is capable of.

00:06:10.000 And so they look at people

00:06:11.100 from other countries

00:06:12.440 and go,

00:06:12.800 well, they're just scientists

00:06:13.540 and doctors like us.

00:06:14.680 It's like,

00:06:15.000 well, not necessarily.

00:06:16.720 But anyway,

00:06:18.880 so chapter one is,

00:06:21.820 oh, sorry,

00:06:22.600 one or another thing

00:06:24.100 is that he views industrial society

00:06:26.940 as fundamentally repressive

00:06:28.400 because it is built on,

00:06:31.500 I guess you could call it

00:06:33.180 a master-slave dialectic,

00:06:35.260 but it's built hierarchically.

00:06:37.800 There are people in charge,

00:06:39.460 there are people who are in the middle,

00:06:40.600 they're a working class,

00:06:42.440 and therefore this is repressive

00:06:44.520 because, of course,

00:06:45.720 the structures of society

00:06:47.200 use force to ultimately

00:06:48.960 keep all of this in line.

00:06:51.020 I think that will follow

00:06:52.160 because if we accept

00:06:53.460 that the dream of communism

00:06:55.060 in the communist mind

00:06:56.460 is the dream of a classless society,

00:06:58.640 then they would say

00:06:59.460 that any society

00:07:00.440 that does have clear stratification

00:07:03.780 would be oppressive

00:07:05.240 and repressive

00:07:06.820 in its culture.

00:07:07.340 He calls it repressive

00:07:08.580 for some reason,

00:07:09.880 but yeah,

00:07:10.680 he definitely believes this.

00:07:13.540 And so chapter one

00:07:14.520 is called

00:07:14.980 The New Forms of Control.

00:07:16.340 The main point

00:07:17.580 behind this chapter

00:07:18.360 is to explain

00:07:19.600 that the productive forces

00:07:20.820 of capitalism

00:07:21.580 are satisfying

00:07:23.340 the basic needs

00:07:25.100 of the workers

00:07:25.940 to such an extent

00:07:26.920 that it makes resistance

00:07:28.360 to this irrational.

00:07:30.300 So, of course,

00:07:31.360 the revolution is never coming

00:07:32.960 because the workers

00:07:34.100 are all satisfied.

00:07:34.720 Why would they want to revolt?

00:07:37.820 And this was obviously

00:07:39.820 the dream of the Soviets,

00:07:41.700 but the motive

00:07:42.960 is the same on both sides.

00:07:45.060 So, again,

00:07:45.460 he's not pro-Soviet

00:07:46.740 in the same way

00:07:48.060 that he's not pro-capitalist.

00:07:49.300 I think it would be helpful

00:07:50.940 to say that

00:07:52.000 the Frankfurt School

00:07:53.020 is called

00:07:54.120 a neo-Marxist school

00:07:56.200 and it arose

00:07:57.160 by people

00:07:58.020 who sort of understood

00:07:59.220 that the Soviet Union

00:08:00.740 isn't going to work

00:08:02.540 and they tried

00:08:03.520 to find alternative ways

00:08:05.180 of pursuing Marxism.

00:08:07.360 Yeah, 100%.

00:08:08.620 And so he

00:08:10.260 he doesn't remember

00:08:11.640 he points out

00:08:12.460 that capitalist society

00:08:14.300 when it's as productive

00:08:15.440 as the United States was

00:08:16.980 because, of course,

00:08:17.400 they fled to the United States

00:08:18.620 where they worked

00:08:20.500 to undermine that society.

00:08:21.560 when it's as productive

00:08:24.660 as it is,

00:08:25.720 the institutions

00:08:26.460 of society

00:08:27.560 and the status quo itself

00:08:28.900 become self-justifying,

00:08:31.260 which is totally true.

00:08:32.920 Why would we want

00:08:33.660 a revolution

00:08:34.140 if we have everything

00:08:35.180 that we want?

00:08:37.520 And so there's no,

00:08:39.200 like he says,

00:08:40.020 it becomes irrational

00:08:40.900 to have a revolution.

00:08:42.120 But he points out

00:08:42.840 that a lot of the things

00:08:43.740 people want

00:08:44.340 aren't really

00:08:45.240 actual human needs.

00:08:47.440 they are what

00:08:48.320 Ted Kaczynski

00:08:49.060 called surrogates.

00:08:50.720 They're things

00:08:51.540 that have been created

00:08:52.580 by the advertising industry

00:08:54.560 to make you think,

00:08:55.960 oh, I would like that thing,

00:08:57.040 I would like this,

00:08:57.660 I would like that,

00:08:58.160 even though you didn't know

00:08:59.520 they existed 10 minutes ago

00:09:00.820 and now you absolutely

00:09:01.820 have to have it.

00:09:03.220 And so mass media

00:09:05.100 and the advertising industry

00:09:06.200 solidifies the dominant

00:09:07.960 culture's hold

00:09:08.820 on the entire society.

00:09:11.220 Personally,

00:09:12.100 I think that to an extent

00:09:13.860 that this is true.

00:09:15.540 But personally,

00:09:16.200 I've never felt

00:09:17.140 that much of a pressure.

00:09:18.760 Well, that's the problem.

00:09:19.900 That's the issue.

00:09:21.740 You don't want revolution

00:09:23.020 because you have

00:09:23.860 a bunch of things

00:09:24.520 that you like

00:09:25.020 and keep you happy.

00:09:25.860 No, that's my point,

00:09:27.060 that I'm not a materialistic

00:09:28.180 person at all.

00:09:29.240 So all the advertising

00:09:31.700 and all this stuff,

00:09:32.560 they don't affect me.

00:09:34.400 The point is,

00:09:35.120 all of your material needs

00:09:36.160 are satisfied.

00:09:37.440 Yeah.

00:09:37.960 So you've got no objection

00:09:40.920 to the structures

00:09:42.780 of domination

00:09:43.400 that uphold the society.

00:09:46.040 Any objection that you'd have

00:09:47.420 would be abstract

00:09:48.260 and conceptual

00:09:48.940 rather than real and practical.

00:09:50.460 I would press

00:09:51.200 against Marcuse,

00:09:52.600 not against your point

00:09:54.140 that their way

00:09:55.200 of conceiving of domination

00:09:56.540 is a dead end.

00:10:01.060 It's a red herring.

00:10:02.740 Because they have this dream

00:10:04.540 that domination

00:10:05.460 can be completely destroyed

00:10:08.280 and all the remedy

00:10:10.100 that they're putting forward

00:10:12.040 involves a huge,

00:10:13.500 massive state.

00:10:14.700 Yeah, okay,

00:10:15.240 I'm going to dominate you

00:10:16.360 to stop being dominant.

00:10:19.180 Well,

00:10:19.880 Marcuse isn't in favor

00:10:21.280 of a huge,

00:10:21.920 massive state either.

00:10:23.680 What he's in favor of

00:10:25.000 is some sort of

00:10:25.800 Garden of Eden situation

00:10:27.180 at the end of the universe

00:10:29.220 where the productivity

00:10:32.640 of society is so great

00:10:34.320 and we'll come on to it

00:10:35.620 in a bit,

00:10:35.960 but there's just no need

00:10:38.660 for people to work

00:10:40.380 so everyone can live

00:10:41.640 like an aristocrat

00:10:42.500 and there is no hierarchy

00:10:44.000 above them.

00:10:44.940 That's what he's aiming for.

00:10:45.780 So while there is

00:10:46.800 any kind of hierarchy,

00:10:48.220 he views that

00:10:48.800 as a repressive society

00:10:50.300 that is under

00:10:51.560 structures of domination.

00:10:52.840 And in this way,

00:10:53.660 he is correct.

00:10:54.760 That is true

00:10:55.740 that there is

00:10:57.000 like the domination,

00:10:58.660 but the word domination

00:11:00.100 implies

00:11:01.340 a much more

00:11:03.240 rough and hard existence

00:11:05.480 than actually really exists.

00:11:09.240 You know,

00:11:09.520 we're definitely bound

00:11:10.840 in golden chains

00:11:11.920 in the modern society

00:11:13.860 because abundance

00:11:15.600 is just...

00:11:17.040 I think it has

00:11:18.140 some distinctively

00:11:19.200 republican origins

00:11:21.080 which we could talk

00:11:22.120 about another time,

00:11:22.980 but they are

00:11:23.480 essentially saying that

00:11:25.320 they are using

00:11:26.420 the old notion

00:11:27.340 of liberty

00:11:28.420 as non-domination

00:11:29.520 and they are saying

00:11:30.320 that we can be

00:11:32.760 in a Rossoean way

00:11:33.980 free

00:11:34.440 if we're not dominated

00:11:36.480 and to be non-dominated

00:11:37.880 we must participate

00:11:39.300 in a massive state.

00:11:40.880 But maybe

00:11:42.680 he doesn't say

00:11:44.500 exactly that.

00:11:45.000 He doesn't say that

00:11:46.100 and he would say that

00:11:47.200 if that's what he wanted.

00:11:48.600 It's not that he wants

00:11:49.640 a massive state.

00:11:51.040 It's that he wants

00:11:51.980 the state to have

00:11:53.100 withered away

00:11:53.660 out of the lack

00:11:55.460 of need.

00:11:56.340 This time it will work.

00:11:57.480 Yeah,

00:11:57.820 I agree with you.

00:12:00.260 But he is right

00:12:01.300 that the society

00:12:02.680 itself

00:12:03.340 creates a sort of

00:12:04.380 suite of surrogate needs

00:12:05.400 generated by mass media

00:12:06.660 advertised to you

00:12:07.860 and gets you bound up

00:12:11.040 in the kind of

00:12:12.340 bourgeois rat race

00:12:13.840 of modern society.

00:12:16.560 And therefore

00:12:17.060 he calls this

00:12:18.420 the fulfilling

00:12:19.700 of these needs

00:12:20.360 a kind of

00:12:21.260 repressive satisfaction.

00:12:23.360 It's like,

00:12:23.600 yes,

00:12:23.880 okay,

00:12:24.120 you've confirmed

00:12:25.120 the system

00:12:25.620 by buying into the system

00:12:26.740 and you've achieved

00:12:28.780 what you feel

00:12:29.540 to be satisfying

00:12:30.560 in the eyes

00:12:31.100 of everyone else

00:12:31.660 you're wearing

00:12:32.000 the latest shoes

00:12:33.440 or the latest clothes

00:12:34.140 or whatever.

00:12:34.440 You didn't need

00:12:35.360 any of these things

00:12:36.100 and all it does

00:12:36.880 is solidify

00:12:37.900 and justifies

00:12:39.500 the society itself

00:12:40.600 and therefore

00:12:41.720 you are being

00:12:43.020 repressed

00:12:43.900 even though

00:12:44.620 you feel like

00:12:45.580 you're achieving

00:12:46.040 satisfaction.

00:12:46.940 So,

00:12:47.220 question.

00:12:47.960 I'll try to

00:12:48.920 reframe this

00:12:50.160 or rephrase it

00:12:51.660 and tell me

00:12:52.400 if you think

00:12:52.840 that that's the idea

00:12:53.760 if I understand

00:12:54.900 it correctly.

00:12:55.580 So,

00:12:56.100 let's say that

00:12:56.780 I'm a member

00:12:57.700 of mass society.

00:12:59.280 I have a lot

00:13:00.560 of needs

00:13:01.000 that are not actual.

00:13:02.080 I am bombarded

00:13:04.140 by advertisement

00:13:05.060 that says

00:13:05.800 buy the latest

00:13:06.960 Taylor Swift album

00:13:08.300 and I think

00:13:10.200 that by buying

00:13:10.980 the latest

00:13:11.840 Taylor Swift album

00:13:13.220 I'm somehow

00:13:14.200 one of the

00:13:15.040 elite persons

00:13:16.860 on earth.

00:13:17.420 You're one of the

00:13:17.820 cool kids.

00:13:18.520 One of the cool kids

00:13:19.460 and essentially

00:13:20.760 that this is not

00:13:21.640 an actual need

00:13:23.640 for the good life.

00:13:25.340 Yeah,

00:13:25.560 and what this

00:13:26.580 has also done

00:13:27.360 is it's

00:13:28.620 made you

00:13:30.140 dependent

00:13:30.780 on the system

00:13:31.840 that is

00:13:33.000 artificially

00:13:33.940 producing

00:13:34.460 these desires

00:13:35.260 in you.

00:13:36.300 Which is fair,

00:13:38.160 which is true

00:13:38.940 in a very

00:13:40.140 sort of Kaczynski-like

00:13:41.140 way.

00:13:42.140 It's like,

00:13:42.500 yeah,

00:13:42.660 okay,

00:13:42.900 I am satisfying

00:13:44.120 a surrogate need.

00:13:45.460 It's not something

00:13:46.440 that I need

00:13:47.020 to survive

00:13:47.740 but it's something

00:13:48.740 I want to feel

00:13:49.920 like I'm enjoying

00:13:50.640 the good life.

00:13:51.640 And he points out

00:13:53.000 that therefore

00:13:53.480 liberty itself

00:13:54.860 is,

00:13:55.760 this is called

00:13:56.540 liberty.

00:13:57.500 This is packaged

00:13:58.360 as the society

00:13:59.560 as being liberty.

00:14:00.780 And so

00:14:01.260 the concept

00:14:02.080 of liberty

00:14:02.500 itself

00:14:02.840 is made

00:14:03.220 into a powerful

00:14:04.080 instrument of domination.

00:14:05.900 Where there are

00:14:06.240 still masters

00:14:06.760 and slaves,

00:14:07.500 it's just the

00:14:07.940 condition of slavery

00:14:08.880 are just far more

00:14:11.600 tolerable when

00:14:12.740 they're packaged

00:14:13.240 in the skin of freedom.

00:14:14.220 And from a sort

00:14:14.860 of extreme

00:14:15.400 communist perspective,

00:14:18.020 yeah,

00:14:18.380 that's true.

00:14:20.380 And so

00:14:21.140 it becomes

00:14:22.080 irrational

00:14:22.760 to revolt against this.

00:14:24.380 Because why would I

00:14:24.920 want to give up

00:14:25.460 all of these things

00:14:26.100 I personally enjoy?

00:14:27.680 Yeah.

00:14:27.840 Well,

00:14:28.580 there isn't

00:14:29.180 a good reason.

00:14:31.220 And what this does

00:14:32.060 in his view

00:14:32.940 is makes society

00:14:33.880 itself totalitarian.

00:14:36.160 So

00:14:36.340 the mass

00:14:37.580 culture of society

00:14:39.380 is everywhere.

00:14:41.120 You can't go,

00:14:41.920 I mean,

00:14:42.280 you know,

00:14:42.780 the fact that I know

00:14:43.900 who Taylor Swift is

00:14:45.000 is kind of an indictment

00:14:47.000 against our society

00:14:48.120 and proves his point.

00:14:49.460 I've never

00:14:49.920 bought a Taylor Swift album.

00:14:51.000 I don't listen to the radio.

00:14:52.620 And still I know

00:14:53.520 who Taylor Swift is.

00:14:54.600 Right?

00:14:55.100 So

00:14:55.440 it is,

00:14:56.660 he is right that,

00:14:57.820 you know,

00:14:58.340 if it was true in the 60s,

00:14:59.640 it's definitely true now,

00:15:00.980 that the sort of

00:15:01.960 mass culture of society

00:15:02.840 is almost everywhere

00:15:04.120 all the time.

00:15:05.440 And there's very little

00:15:06.320 space away from

00:15:07.720 the products of technology,

00:15:09.440 advertising,

00:15:09.960 politics,

00:15:10.400 media,

00:15:10.900 and any other

00:15:11.440 sort of,

00:15:12.480 the sort of

00:15:12.840 corona of society,

00:15:14.720 of this mass society.

00:15:16.440 It's very hard

00:15:17.180 to get away from.

00:15:18.240 And especially

00:15:18.880 with social media.

00:15:19.640 And like,

00:15:21.100 again,

00:15:22.260 he wouldn't know

00:15:23.460 how much worse

00:15:24.120 it would get

00:15:24.520 through social media.

00:15:26.020 And so

00:15:26.760 he believes

00:15:28.120 that this becomes

00:15:28.940 totalitarian

00:15:29.620 in its effect.

00:15:30.780 And in a way

00:15:31.280 he's right

00:15:31.680 because again,

00:15:32.240 he's comparing it

00:15:33.120 to the sort of

00:15:33.600 old world

00:15:34.460 aristocratic society

00:15:36.380 versus the sort of

00:15:37.260 vulgar plebeian society,

00:15:39.000 peasant society.

00:15:40.280 And these things

00:15:40.880 would have had

00:15:41.500 a great distance

00:15:42.260 between them.

00:15:43.240 The average

00:15:44.000 German peasant

00:15:44.860 would never have

00:15:45.780 gone to

00:15:46.440 a high class theater

00:15:48.400 and listened to Wagner.

00:15:49.640 for example.

00:15:50.560 You know,

00:15:50.740 this is a society

00:15:51.520 that's completely

00:15:52.060 closed off to him.

00:15:53.380 And so it's

00:15:53.700 completely alien to him.

00:15:54.900 Does he use

00:15:55.800 the word

00:15:56.200 totalitarian?

00:15:57.400 That mass culture

00:15:58.340 becomes totalitarian?

00:15:59.900 Yes.

00:16:00.180 Okay,

00:16:00.500 I would have

00:16:01.280 definitely,

00:16:02.400 I have definitely

00:16:03.540 lots of questions here.

00:16:05.340 Okay, go ahead.

00:16:06.500 Well,

00:16:06.920 I mean,

00:16:07.720 totalitarianism.

00:16:09.140 To my mind,

00:16:09.820 totalitarianism is

00:16:11.020 authoritarianism

00:16:12.520 on steroids.

00:16:13.640 And it definitely

00:16:14.400 involves

00:16:15.100 state oppression.

00:16:16.860 And state oppression

00:16:18.320 to the extent

00:16:19.720 that the state

00:16:20.900 tries to get

00:16:21.660 into your own mind

00:16:22.700 and penalize you

00:16:25.340 if you don't

00:16:26.500 have the thoughts

00:16:28.620 you must have.

00:16:29.900 Yeah,

00:16:30.000 but you would say

00:16:30.600 that's true,

00:16:31.580 it's just this is being

00:16:32.400 done by the culture

00:16:33.120 rather than the state.

00:16:34.980 Yeah,

00:16:35.260 but the point is

00:16:36.060 that if it is done

00:16:37.160 by the culture,

00:16:38.800 it is sort of

00:16:40.520 different because

00:16:41.380 there is no relation

00:16:42.820 of oppression there.

00:16:43.740 and in civil society

00:16:45.640 we have

00:16:46.240 an actual,

00:16:49.640 not a slogan,

00:16:50.840 diversity of thinking.

00:16:52.480 Well,

00:16:52.920 he would argue

00:16:53.720 that actually

00:16:54.280 if you think about it,

00:16:56.480 and he does argue,

00:16:58.300 that the,

00:16:59.960 it's,

00:17:00.400 you don't actually

00:17:01.180 have a diversity

00:17:01.780 of thinking.

00:17:02.340 What you have

00:17:02.860 is a set of premises

00:17:04.300 that form a kind

00:17:05.320 of closed universe

00:17:06.220 in which

00:17:07.480 there is

00:17:08.560 an apparent

00:17:09.260 high level

00:17:10.040 of divergent thinking.

00:17:12.500 but they all

00:17:13.500 agree on the same

00:17:14.260 premises.

00:17:15.540 So,

00:17:16.220 it's actually

00:17:17.040 that this is

00:17:18.460 quite closed really,

00:17:20.300 it's just that

00:17:21.000 you would view

00:17:21.840 the alternative

00:17:22.760 as being some

00:17:23.620 sort of insane

00:17:24.280 extremism,

00:17:25.420 whereas you're not

00:17:26.880 taking it seriously

00:17:27.880 on its own merits.

00:17:28.960 And the,

00:17:29.380 the power

00:17:31.140 of the industrial

00:17:32.080 society to produce

00:17:33.300 culture

00:17:33.840 means that you

00:17:35.000 can't really

00:17:35.640 escape from culture.

00:17:37.380 The culture is

00:17:38.120 everywhere all the time

00:17:39.420 and this is what

00:17:40.940 makes it totalitarian.

00:17:42.720 And again,

00:17:43.060 I think in this way

00:17:43.720 he's got a point,

00:17:45.500 you know,

00:17:45.700 he's not wrong

00:17:46.380 about that.

00:17:47.740 I think culture

00:17:48.320 by definition

00:17:49.200 is everywhere

00:17:49.840 because culture

00:17:50.520 is the way we live.

00:17:51.520 Well,

00:17:51.680 no,

00:17:51.980 because like you

00:17:52.840 said,

00:17:53.320 in a aristocratic

00:17:55.660 stratified society

00:17:56.820 the peasants

00:17:58.680 didn't have access

00:18:00.080 to certain,

00:18:01.040 you know,

00:18:01.760 areas of culture.

00:18:03.240 And in a pre-modern,

00:18:04.980 pre-industrial society

00:18:05.920 it was very difficult

00:18:08.000 to actually engage

00:18:09.120 in culture

00:18:10.280 a lot of the time.

00:18:11.620 Like you had to go

00:18:12.200 out of your way

00:18:12.700 to do it.

00:18:13.260 Something happened

00:18:14.080 rarely.

00:18:15.080 You know,

00:18:15.240 when Shakespeare

00:18:15.740 was putting on a play

00:18:16.780 in the 16th century

00:18:17.780 or whatever,

00:18:18.540 that was a big event.

00:18:20.600 You didn't see that

00:18:21.840 every day.

00:18:22.740 But now you can

00:18:23.280 literally just play it

00:18:24.460 every single day

00:18:25.360 on your,

00:18:25.820 for him,

00:18:26.360 on his TV,

00:18:26.980 on his VCR.

00:18:28.180 But for us on the internet,

00:18:29.360 you can just watch Shakespeare

00:18:30.220 non-stop all the time.

00:18:32.200 It's not in any way

00:18:33.700 an event anymore.

00:18:34.440 So the culture is

00:18:35.400 readily on hand

00:18:37.060 whether you want it

00:18:37.780 or not.

00:18:39.520 And so this is

00:18:41.220 when the luxuries

00:18:42.640 of life become

00:18:43.340 available to all

00:18:44.120 of the classes,

00:18:45.420 which is his

00:18:47.160 primary complaint here,

00:18:48.480 the good life

00:18:49.180 becomes a powerful

00:18:50.640 force which militates

00:18:52.020 against change.

00:18:53.320 So obviously,

00:18:54.480 yeah,

00:18:54.640 I've got all the things

00:18:55.320 I want.

00:18:56.000 Why would I want

00:18:57.020 to change this?

00:18:59.120 Of course,

00:18:59.780 because the revolution

00:19:01.080 becomes an abstract thing.

00:19:03.460 And so this is

00:19:04.720 what creates

00:19:05.220 the one-dimensional society.

00:19:06.580 So he says this,

00:19:07.780 thus emerges a pattern

00:19:09.120 of one-dimensional

00:19:09.740 thought and behavior

00:19:10.860 in which ideas,

00:19:12.280 aspirations,

00:19:13.000 and objectives

00:19:13.480 that,

00:19:13.940 by their content,

00:19:15.380 transcend the established

00:19:17.040 universe of discourse

00:19:18.060 and action

00:19:18.680 are either repelled

00:19:19.980 or reduced to terms

00:19:21.100 of this universe.

00:19:22.720 They are redefined

00:19:23.560 by the rationality

00:19:24.580 of the given system

00:19:25.520 and of its qualitative

00:19:26.700 extension.

00:19:27.840 And that's what you were

00:19:28.460 doing just a minute.

00:19:29.760 What?

00:19:30.320 Well,

00:19:30.780 why would I,

00:19:31.280 you know,

00:19:31.760 you're reducing,

00:19:34.040 like,

00:19:35.540 everything to be

00:19:36.340 within the paradigm,

00:19:37.700 right?

00:19:38.000 So you were saying,

00:19:38.680 well,

00:19:38.780 no,

00:19:38.920 we've got a lot

00:19:39.520 of discourse.

00:19:40.500 Yeah,

00:19:40.700 no,

00:19:40.900 you've got a lot

00:19:41.520 of discourse

00:19:41.880 that's domesticated

00:19:42.840 by the industrial paradigm,

00:19:44.700 but there are worlds

00:19:45.500 outside.

00:19:46.360 But first of all,

00:19:47.280 how does he explain

00:19:48.280 the fact that he

00:19:49.360 lived in a society

00:19:50.980 where he voiced

00:19:51.900 a different paradigm?

00:19:54.820 He's just a very clever chap.

00:19:56.100 It's like,

00:19:56.720 it's like,

00:19:57.380 yeah,

00:19:58.080 it's like Marx

00:19:58.820 saying that

00:19:59.540 all the capitalists

00:20:03.420 would support capitalism

00:20:06.240 and then he couldn't

00:20:07.560 explain Engels.

00:20:09.500 Sure.

00:20:09.920 So it seems to me

00:20:10.740 that what a lot

00:20:12.420 of these people

00:20:12.960 are doing,

00:20:13.560 Marxists,

00:20:14.180 neo-Marxists,

00:20:15.260 they do have something,

00:20:16.560 they have a portion

00:20:17.320 of the truth

00:20:18.120 in what they're saying.

00:20:19.360 People are not as,

00:20:20.580 not everyone

00:20:21.160 is an Aristotle

00:20:21.900 and not everyone

00:20:23.440 is capable

00:20:24.060 of autonomous thinking

00:20:25.320 to the degree

00:20:26.300 of an Aristotle.

00:20:27.480 I think there's

00:20:28.180 no doubt about this.

00:20:29.460 But it seems to me

00:20:30.280 that still

00:20:31.240 the level of,

00:20:33.540 you could say,

00:20:34.160 creativity

00:20:34.740 and individuality

00:20:35.960 we had

00:20:37.180 in societies

00:20:39.300 of the West

00:20:40.800 was far greater

00:20:42.660 than the level

00:20:44.700 of creativity

00:20:45.300 and individuality

00:20:46.360 than in the USSR.

00:20:48.480 Sure.

00:20:48.940 But the...

00:20:50.180 So it's more

00:20:51.160 a matter of degrees

00:20:52.240 the way I see it

00:20:53.500 rather than saying

00:20:54.260 it's either the case

00:20:55.480 that everyone

00:20:56.100 is an Aristotle

00:20:56.820 or no one is.

00:20:58.920 Well,

00:20:59.180 he's not saying

00:20:59.840 that everyone

00:21:00.080 has to be an Aristotle.

00:21:01.300 What he's saying is

00:21:02.040 everyone has to be

00:21:03.360 equally free

00:21:04.360 to develop

00:21:04.980 into whatever it is

00:21:06.140 they potentially could be.

00:21:07.980 And they have taken

00:21:09.100 precisely this

00:21:10.120 to create society

00:21:11.220 of today

00:21:11.680 because they constantly

00:21:13.620 put equity in

00:21:14.680 and they say

00:21:15.180 you have different needs.

00:21:16.580 Oh yeah,

00:21:16.920 100%.

00:21:17.640 Remember,

00:21:18.060 he's one of the origin

00:21:19.900 points of critical theory.

00:21:21.340 Yeah.

00:21:21.440 And so everything

00:21:22.900 about critical theory

00:21:24.000 that followed,

00:21:25.020 it follows from this.

00:21:26.180 So this is the bedrock

00:21:27.380 of it.

00:21:28.180 And so the fundamental problem

00:21:30.140 is that

00:21:30.780 his fundamental problem

00:21:33.140 with this state of affairs

00:21:34.740 that I think

00:21:35.740 it is an accurate diagnosis

00:21:37.460 is that

00:21:38.460 it prevents society

00:21:39.780 from reaching

00:21:40.560 the liberal ideal

00:21:41.720 which is the

00:21:42.860 transcendence

00:21:44.180 of the need

00:21:45.100 for dependence

00:21:45.860 on technology

00:21:47.280 or hierarchy

00:21:48.060 so people can achieve

00:21:49.780 this level plane

00:21:50.560 where everyone

00:21:51.040 is essentially

00:21:51.860 completely isolated

00:21:53.480 and free to develop

00:21:54.520 in their own ways.

00:21:55.540 He defines progress

00:21:56.900 which is nice

00:21:57.780 because very few people do.

00:21:59.340 He says,

00:21:59.900 quote,

00:22:00.080 progress is not a neutral term.

00:22:01.980 It moves towards

00:22:02.540 specific ends

00:22:03.440 and these ends

00:22:04.080 are defined

00:22:04.620 by the possibilities

00:22:05.500 of ameliorating

00:22:06.780 the human condition.

00:22:08.560 That's what this is all about.

00:22:10.560 I mean,

00:22:11.280 this is what it is all about

00:22:12.980 but the problem with this

00:22:14.280 for me

00:22:15.040 is not that it is wrong

00:22:16.240 but that it is

00:22:17.040 so abstract

00:22:17.920 that we can give

00:22:18.920 entirely conflicting

00:22:20.780 interpretations of it.

00:22:23.280 Maybe,

00:22:23.700 but it all ends up

00:22:24.600 sort of converging

00:22:25.340 in the same point.

00:22:27.680 But,

00:22:27.820 I'll save that for now.

00:22:30.500 The advance of technology

00:22:32.020 is

00:22:32.640 instead of creating

00:22:34.480 true liberation

00:22:35.420 from the human condition,

00:22:37.620 instead creating

00:22:38.620 more advanced forms

00:22:39.620 of containment.

00:22:40.760 So,

00:22:41.280 you are still a human

00:22:42.620 with human needs

00:22:44.100 and human desires

00:22:44.800 living in a fundamentally

00:22:46.280 kind of human society

00:22:47.680 and technology

00:22:49.160 is just making it

00:22:49.980 more likely

00:22:50.540 that you will stay

00:22:51.160 in this society

00:22:51.820 rather than break out.

00:22:53.980 I have

00:22:54.980 something to say

00:22:56.800 about this

00:22:57.220 because I see

00:22:57.740 a lot of people

00:22:58.320 criticizing technology

00:22:59.580 and stuff.

00:23:00.000 For me,

00:23:00.320 it's more an issue

00:23:01.180 of how we use it.

00:23:02.300 I think they do

00:23:03.180 have a point

00:23:03.820 up to an extent

00:23:04.740 but for instance

00:23:05.480 I think also

00:23:06.340 some other stuff

00:23:07.100 for my

00:23:07.880 and I'll make it

00:23:10.040 a bit personal here.

00:23:11.660 One of my relatives

00:23:12.460 is alive right now

00:23:14.100 because of technology.

00:23:15.800 She had cancer

00:23:17.060 and it was

00:23:19.040 wrapped around

00:23:19.720 the nerve of the foot

00:23:20.720 and if

00:23:21.920 it was one of the

00:23:23.360 cancerous tissues

00:23:25.360 that required

00:23:26.780 the most

00:23:27.400 cutting edge technology.

00:23:28.800 So,

00:23:29.000 for instance,

00:23:29.660 if the enlightenment

00:23:30.540 was pushed back

00:23:32.980 for 10 years,

00:23:33.980 she wouldn't be alive.

00:23:35.080 Right.

00:23:35.440 So,

00:23:36.040 it seems to me

00:23:37.440 that that's one bit

00:23:39.860 but I think

00:23:40.680 what they absolutely

00:23:41.820 have a point

00:23:42.500 and I think here

00:23:43.480 people left and right

00:23:45.420 and center

00:23:46.000 agree on this

00:23:46.820 when it comes to science

00:23:47.980 is that it leads to

00:23:49.640 what I think

00:23:50.800 critical theorists

00:23:51.960 mention as

00:23:52.940 instrumental rationality

00:23:54.820 and that leads to

00:23:56.620 also what Heidegger

00:23:57.480 was talking about

00:23:58.100 treating nature

00:23:58.900 as a resource alone.

00:24:01.180 I think that this is

00:24:02.060 actually what is

00:24:03.420 really tyrannical

00:24:04.380 because it creates

00:24:06.020 a background

00:24:07.440 framework of thinking

00:24:08.980 where all morality

00:24:11.080 becomes an

00:24:12.100 as if.

00:24:13.900 It's like

00:24:14.720 in a way

00:24:16.400 like Kant

00:24:17.080 would say that

00:24:17.860 you don't know

00:24:18.760 if we are moral agents

00:24:20.040 but you have to view

00:24:21.260 the world

00:24:21.700 as if we are moral agents.

00:24:23.620 Now this kind of

00:24:24.720 instrumental

00:24:25.380 rationality

00:24:26.980 and the world

00:24:28.700 it creates

00:24:29.260 the materialistic

00:24:30.200 world

00:24:30.520 the materialistic

00:24:32.640 worldview

00:24:33.140 it spills over

00:24:35.060 is literally

00:24:36.460 the background

00:24:37.280 that says

00:24:37.880 we are not

00:24:38.700 moral agents

00:24:39.440 we have no

00:24:40.600 moral status

00:24:41.280 but somehow

00:24:43.040 we have evolved

00:24:43.980 with our minds

00:24:45.600 and brains

00:24:46.020 playing the story

00:24:46.760 to us.

00:24:47.580 So he would say

00:24:49.280 yes

00:24:49.640 and he would

00:24:50.440 also say

00:24:51.320 that medical

00:24:53.180 technology

00:24:53.680 is a very good thing

00:24:54.460 obviously

00:24:54.920 he's not

00:24:56.080 he's entirely

00:24:57.380 in favour

00:24:58.020 of ameliorating

00:24:59.340 the human condition

00:25:00.040 so he doesn't want

00:25:01.180 part of the human

00:25:02.440 condition is death

00:25:03.320 and so he would say

00:25:04.940 anything that ameliorates

00:25:06.020 that is a good thing

00:25:06.940 but he would also say

00:25:08.860 however

00:25:09.800 concurrent with this

00:25:11.380 and seemingly

00:25:12.060 inextricable to this

00:25:13.420 is the capitalist

00:25:15.080 and you can say this

00:25:16.720 for the Soviet as well

00:25:17.560 the raw forces

00:25:19.240 of industrial productivity

00:25:21.300 are also put

00:25:22.500 into creating

00:25:23.940 these surrogate needs

00:25:24.840 and desires

00:25:25.340 so cancer treatment

00:25:26.620 is not a surrogate need

00:25:27.720 however

00:25:28.420 you watching TV

00:25:29.960 when you get home

00:25:30.760 or scrolling on the internet

00:25:32.160 or whatever it is

00:25:33.000 these are all surrogate needs

00:25:34.060 and this dominates

00:25:35.240 everything about society

00:25:36.420 that prevents us

00:25:37.780 from moving

00:25:38.440 into a different

00:25:39.600 kind of society

00:25:40.540 which is true

00:25:41.880 I think you have a point

00:25:43.880 tell me if you think

00:25:44.840 that the following question

00:25:46.260 pertains to

00:25:47.480 the discussion

00:25:48.140 right now

00:25:48.680 for later

00:25:49.120 but this seems to me

00:25:50.040 to be the exact

00:25:51.120 opposite spirit

00:25:52.020 from the spirit

00:25:53.380 of the Odyssey

00:25:53.980 because in the Odyssey

00:25:55.480 we have the very beginning

00:25:57.080 where Odysseus

00:25:57.900 is presented with

00:25:58.940 by Calypso

00:25:59.840 with a dilemma

00:26:01.160 do you want

00:26:02.060 to be immortal here

00:26:03.180 where you're constantly

00:26:04.100 going to be strong

00:26:04.920 beautiful

00:26:05.360 but away from home

00:26:06.600 or do you want

00:26:07.800 to go back

00:26:08.500 to live

00:26:09.460 your very limited life

00:26:12.360 back home

00:26:13.540 and he chooses

00:26:14.540 the latter

00:26:15.040 yes

00:26:16.880 he's saying

00:26:18.700 that you should

00:26:19.120 they hate the Odyssey

00:26:19.980 I think

00:26:20.380 I don't think

00:26:21.580 they hate it

00:26:22.200 but he's definitely

00:26:24.940 arguing

00:26:25.540 that we should

00:26:26.820 make home

00:26:27.480 like the island

00:26:28.220 of Calypso

00:26:28.740 he's saying

00:26:30.620 look

00:26:30.860 isn't home

00:26:31.740 actually oppressive

00:26:32.580 and painful

00:26:33.260 and difficult

00:26:33.800 why don't we

00:26:34.940 transform this

00:26:35.700 into Calypso's island

00:26:36.540 so anyway

00:26:37.880 moving on to chapter 2

00:26:38.820 the closing of the

00:26:39.640 political universe

00:26:40.460 so the main point of this

00:26:41.460 is that society

00:26:42.900 the industrial society

00:26:44.680 therefore

00:26:45.000 closes the avenues

00:26:46.500 of potential political discourse

00:26:47.880 to normalise

00:26:48.760 this one dimensional society

00:26:50.060 and obviously it does

00:26:52.200 and why wouldn't

00:26:52.900 there are of course

00:26:54.620 you know

00:26:56.140 obviously the society

00:26:57.420 protects itself

00:26:58.560 from radical revolutionary change

00:27:01.300 because it views itself

00:27:02.360 as having

00:27:02.880 a good thing

00:27:04.200 and Mark Hughes

00:27:05.240 is like

00:27:05.460 yeah but this isn't

00:27:06.220 communist ideal

00:27:07.180 it's like

00:27:07.540 no

00:27:08.580 it's not

00:27:09.680 and that's his complaint

00:27:11.820 he says that it does this

00:27:13.660 in four particular ways

00:27:14.580 mechanisation makes labour easier

00:27:16.320 so the people doing the labour

00:27:18.900 feel less inclined to revolt

00:27:20.760 there's a stratification

00:27:22.140 of jobs created

00:27:23.100 between like

00:27:23.620 white collar

00:27:24.240 blue collar managerial

00:27:25.400 and this creates

00:27:26.860 a kind of prestige

00:27:27.520 that one layer

00:27:29.220 doesn't want to give up

00:27:30.040 for the others

00:27:31.040 it also changes

00:27:32.520 the character of the workers

00:27:33.720 who enjoy their work

00:27:34.580 and you know

00:27:36.040 they enjoy working

00:27:36.820 with the machines themselves

00:27:37.740 and they input

00:27:38.860 constructively

00:27:39.600 into the process

00:27:40.820 and don't want to

00:27:41.980 just pack it all in

00:27:43.400 and therefore

00:27:44.860 the working class

00:27:45.600 is no longer

00:27:46.220 the living contradiction

00:27:47.800 of the established society

00:27:49.100 that Marx would

00:27:50.580 hold that they are

00:27:51.520 actually no

00:27:52.720 they've completely

00:27:53.280 sublimated into it

00:27:54.560 and they're happy

00:27:55.340 where they are

00:27:55.800 they like what they do

00:27:56.800 they don't want

00:27:58.060 to go on strikes

00:27:58.740 they actually want

00:27:59.340 to get on with their work

00:28:00.180 and things like this

00:28:00.860 and this makes

00:28:02.220 the working class

00:28:03.920 the slaves of a society

00:28:05.340 and willing participants

00:28:07.560 in their own servitude

00:28:08.620 but he has optimism

00:28:11.300 he says

00:28:12.140 well look

00:28:12.480 they all may well

00:28:14.120 be very happy

00:28:14.900 in this society

00:28:15.980 of domination

00:28:16.640 but that's not going

00:28:17.960 to get us communism

00:28:18.600 is it

00:28:19.040 and so

00:28:20.280 what is on the horizon

00:28:21.960 well automation

00:28:22.880 automation

00:28:24.260 automation

00:28:24.480 is the key

00:28:25.600 to transcending

00:28:27.060 the present society

00:28:28.040 so when all of the jobs

00:28:29.700 are automated

00:28:30.240 and we have no choice

00:28:31.480 but to live like

00:28:32.440 French aristocrats

00:28:34.420 in the twilight

00:28:35.620 of the ancient regime

00:28:36.540 oh I hope not

00:28:37.480 well

00:28:39.220 all these people

00:28:40.680 are just going to have

00:28:41.260 no jobs

00:28:41.760 and so they're going

00:28:42.220 to have no choice

00:28:42.900 everything will just

00:28:44.300 be provided to them

00:28:45.440 by a machine

00:28:46.100 at some point

00:28:46.760 I mean

00:28:47.300 I think

00:28:48.120 life is just

00:28:49.420 struggling

00:28:50.160 striving

00:28:50.880 if everything

00:28:52.620 is just given

00:28:53.400 to you

00:28:53.740 but that's a human

00:28:54.460 condition

00:28:54.860 and we're trying

00:28:55.200 to ameliorate

00:28:55.900 the human condition

00:28:56.640 that's literally

00:28:58.560 I agree with you

00:28:59.400 obviously I completely

00:29:00.400 agree with you

00:29:00.940 that's a problem

00:29:01.820 in some cases

00:29:03.020 I think the fundamental

00:29:04.380 problem with

00:29:05.380 a lot of philosophers

00:29:07.080 and with the enlightenment

00:29:08.460 in this case

00:29:09.360 I think a lot of

00:29:10.940 enlightenment thinkers

00:29:11.800 have it

00:29:12.260 massively

00:29:13.500 mistaken here

00:29:14.600 wrong

00:29:15.040 is that

00:29:15.680 you can't convince

00:29:16.720 everyone

00:29:17.100 there are some

00:29:18.880 just hard disagreements

00:29:20.420 that are irresolvable

00:29:21.560 people who are just

00:29:23.060 going to say

00:29:23.840 we need to accept

00:29:24.900 life

00:29:25.320 and human wisdom

00:29:27.060 says we need to

00:29:27.920 accept our mortality

00:29:29.440 are never going to

00:29:31.800 agree with people

00:29:32.760 who are going to

00:29:34.600 rebel against it

00:29:35.580 in their own minds

00:29:36.480 I'm just completely

00:29:37.340 against the total

00:29:38.240 amelioration of

00:29:39.060 the human condition

00:29:39.740 I think that's an

00:29:40.380 awful thing

00:29:41.080 because that means

00:29:41.920 that we're no longer

00:29:42.520 humans

00:29:42.960 it becomes something

00:29:43.800 else

00:29:44.160 but anyway

00:29:46.940 so he thinks

00:29:47.980 that automation

00:29:48.560 can ultimately

00:29:50.480 provide the

00:29:52.480 circumstances

00:29:53.120 so we can

00:29:53.780 transcend

00:29:54.440 a system

00:29:56.000 of domination

00:29:56.540 so there won't

00:29:57.300 need to be

00:29:57.680 classes

00:29:58.020 because of course

00:29:58.600 what would put

00:30:00.120 someone in a

00:30:00.620 greater class

00:30:01.200 than anyone else

00:30:01.900 and the

00:30:04.860 way that the

00:30:06.060 state operates

00:30:06.560 at the moment

00:30:06.980 is something

00:30:07.320 called the

00:30:07.780 welfare and

00:30:08.380 warfare state

00:30:09.080 so the

00:30:10.340 society conducts

00:30:11.440 warfare overseas

00:30:12.260 and provides

00:30:13.400 welfare to those

00:30:14.300 people at the

00:30:14.760 bottom

00:30:15.000 in order to

00:30:15.840 maintain a

00:30:16.400 kind of

00:30:16.820 equilibrium

00:30:17.720 in the middle

00:30:18.720 so most people

00:30:20.100 fall into the

00:30:21.300 middle category

00:30:21.920 of fairly happy

00:30:23.400 and productive

00:30:23.840 workers

00:30:24.320 and the

00:30:25.700 productivity of

00:30:26.380 the industrial

00:30:26.700 society allows

00:30:27.320 us to drone

00:30:28.060 strike

00:30:28.460 or not

00:30:28.980 drone strike

00:30:29.560 in his day

00:30:30.020 but bomb

00:30:30.600 people around

00:30:31.800 the world

00:30:32.200 and any people

00:30:33.640 who would have

00:30:34.360 formed a kind

00:30:35.000 of critical

00:30:35.360 revolutionary

00:30:35.840 conscious

00:30:36.260 are given

00:30:36.620 enough welfare

00:30:37.200 so they can

00:30:38.120 afford the

00:30:38.660 luxuries of

00:30:39.320 society in

00:30:40.200 the main

00:30:40.980 and therefore

00:30:42.880 nothing will

00:30:44.260 change

00:30:44.660 this will

00:30:45.060 go on

00:30:45.380 forever

00:30:45.780 as far as

00:30:46.480 he's concerned

00:30:46.880 which is a

00:30:47.540 problem

00:30:47.780 because he

00:30:48.360 wants revolution

00:30:49.080 this moves us

00:30:53.040 on to chapter

00:30:53.500 three

00:30:53.920 the conquest

00:30:54.920 of the unhappy

00:30:55.640 consciousness

00:30:56.220 because it is

00:30:58.900 true that

00:31:00.360 there's something

00:31:02.420 wrong with

00:31:03.080 industrial society

00:31:04.160 this isn't

00:31:05.300 as you say

00:31:05.860 man needs to

00:31:06.820 struggle

00:31:07.160 actually we need

00:31:08.520 to strive for

00:31:09.100 something

00:31:09.440 and if you're

00:31:10.380 given everything

00:31:11.260 for free

00:31:12.120 and you've only

00:31:12.880 got one thing

00:31:13.680 you can basically

00:31:14.260 do

00:31:14.680 there's a need

00:31:18.200 for therapists

00:31:19.560 because a therapist

00:31:21.500 is fundamentally

00:31:22.620 an outgrowth

00:31:24.280 of the modern

00:31:24.780 era

00:31:25.140 say look

00:31:26.140 you're living

00:31:26.600 in a relatively

00:31:27.240 unnatural state

00:31:28.240 and I need

00:31:29.820 to essentially

00:31:30.460 sort of massage

00:31:31.080 your brain

00:31:31.760 to get you

00:31:32.580 to accept

00:31:33.180 this unnatural

00:31:34.520 state of affairs

00:31:35.300 that's making you

00:31:35.900 depressed

00:31:36.360 paranoid

00:31:37.280 or whatever

00:31:37.880 mental issues

00:31:39.100 you're coming up

00:31:39.640 with

00:31:39.780 that you otherwise

00:31:40.840 wouldn't have had

00:31:41.540 in a pre-modern

00:31:42.240 society

00:31:42.820 because you

00:31:43.780 would have joined

00:31:44.120 a convert

00:31:44.620 or something

00:31:45.060 like that

00:31:45.420 you'd have done

00:31:46.400 something metaphysical

00:31:47.280 or you know

00:31:48.340 insane

00:31:48.860 but instead

00:31:51.020 the sort of

00:31:51.560 one dimensional

00:31:51.960 state

00:31:52.320 it's just like

00:31:52.700 well you just

00:31:53.080 go to the

00:31:53.460 therapist

00:31:53.820 and we'll just

00:31:55.680 brainwash you

00:31:57.120 into going back

00:31:58.240 into the way

00:31:59.600 things are now

00:32:00.200 that are causing

00:32:00.880 you to be

00:32:01.620 unhappy

00:32:02.400 and this is

00:32:03.960 what the conquest

00:32:04.600 of the unhappy

00:32:05.100 consciousness

00:32:05.540 and the way

00:32:07.740 it does this

00:32:08.280 is by the

00:32:08.820 mass production

00:32:09.400 of art

00:32:10.040 and it kind

00:32:11.020 of sublimates

00:32:11.780 art

00:32:12.320 into itself

00:32:13.520 which he calls

00:32:15.100 repressive

00:32:15.620 sublimation

00:32:16.260 in order to

00:32:18.960 kind of integrate

00:32:19.660 it into

00:32:20.420 the mass

00:32:21.800 popular culture

00:32:22.640 now of course

00:32:23.840 what this does

00:32:24.600 is destroys

00:32:25.500 the transcendental

00:32:26.400 nature of art

00:32:27.140 so

00:32:28.020 and this is

00:32:28.920 where he brings

00:32:29.500 up the aristocratic

00:32:30.140 society

00:32:30.600 being two-dimensional

00:32:32.020 and therefore

00:32:33.000 having this

00:32:33.680 kind of

00:32:34.720 realm of art

00:32:36.340 that is otherwise

00:32:37.100 unavailable

00:32:38.000 to the masses

00:32:39.160 and you know

00:32:40.540 occasionally you

00:32:41.120 might get like

00:32:41.520 a peasant

00:32:41.880 who for some

00:32:42.320 reason can afford

00:32:42.880 to get into

00:32:43.560 you know

00:32:44.280 a theatre hall

00:32:45.420 or something

00:32:45.740 while Beethoven's

00:32:46.700 playing

00:32:46.940 and have this

00:32:48.120 transcendental

00:32:48.700 experience

00:32:49.900 and that'll be

00:32:52.240 something he'll

00:32:52.800 remember forever

00:32:53.480 so

00:32:54.760 I have an issue

00:32:56.340 with this thought

00:32:57.040 and maybe I have

00:32:58.620 misunderstood it

00:32:59.500 but

00:32:59.960 let's say that

00:33:02.080 I love

00:33:03.020 classical music

00:33:03.820 I do love

00:33:04.680 classical music

00:33:05.420 and I love

00:33:07.020 Pavarotti

00:33:08.460 my favourite

00:33:10.020 tenor

00:33:10.500 it's just

00:33:11.040 raw power

00:33:11.760 and I love

00:33:13.200 Nessun Dorma

00:33:14.600 the aria

00:33:16.180 it seems to me

00:33:17.900 to be

00:33:18.460 one of the

00:33:19.460 closest things

00:33:20.260 to a

00:33:20.860 just transformative

00:33:22.100 experience

00:33:22.760 it's just

00:33:23.500 magical

00:33:24.140 I have

00:33:26.520 I just

00:33:28.320 interact with

00:33:29.180 it

00:33:29.380 and I find

00:33:30.120 it

00:33:30.380 very uplifting

00:33:31.500 and

00:33:32.140 psychically

00:33:33.880 rewarding

00:33:34.440 I don't care

00:33:36.060 if a lot

00:33:36.980 of people

00:33:37.300 have access

00:33:37.820 to it

00:33:38.160 or not

00:33:38.500 and I don't

00:33:39.420 care if

00:33:40.000 I watch

00:33:41.640 it

00:33:41.820 or go

00:33:42.240 if a lot

00:33:43.880 of people

00:33:44.220 can access

00:33:44.740 it

00:33:44.960 so

00:33:45.180 to me

00:33:45.860 the idea

00:33:46.520 that

00:33:46.940 the mass

00:33:48.220 society

00:33:48.880 can

00:33:49.400 give art

00:33:50.640 and can

00:33:51.080 make art

00:33:51.580 accessible

00:33:52.060 to a lot

00:33:52.540 of people

00:33:52.920 has nothing

00:33:53.680 to do

00:33:54.060 with

00:33:54.420 how I

00:33:55.500 interact

00:33:57.880 with it

00:33:58.340 so it

00:33:58.740 would seem

00:33:59.180 to me

00:33:59.440 that if

00:33:59.860 that's

00:34:00.140 his beef

00:34:00.660 with

00:34:01.480 not entirely

00:34:03.000 so what's

00:34:05.960 the problem

00:34:06.400 if I can

00:34:07.740 go and

00:34:08.500 interact with

00:34:09.580 let's say

00:34:10.020 a tragic

00:34:10.500 play

00:34:10.880 and say

00:34:11.260 yeah

00:34:11.720 well played

00:34:12.340 what's the

00:34:13.680 issue

00:34:14.000 if a lot

00:34:14.520 of people

00:34:14.840 have access

00:34:15.460 to it

00:34:15.800 to watch

00:34:16.320 the full

00:34:16.600 video

00:34:16.900 please

00:34:17.360 become a

00:34:17.740 premium

00:34:17.980 member

00:34:18.340 at

00:34:18.640 lotuseaters.com

00:34:22.060 you

The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - October 05, 2024

PREVIEW： Book Club #63 ｜ Herbert Marcuse's One Dimensional Man

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