Herbert Marcuse (The One Dimensional Man) Flashcards
What is the one-dimensional man?
The one-dimensional man is the post-industrial condition of a man that is pacified by the state. Wherein the state provides the desires of that person. By doing that, there is no more urge for the citizen to revolt or protest against the institutions
How did the welfare state create the conditions of one-dimensionality?
It provided all the needs and it eliminated the delayed gratification. By creating that culture of consumption, people are much more attached to their work. If you bought a loan for 20 years, but you have to work for 20 years. COnditions like that would mean that the people are going to be very dedicated to their jobs. They have to pay for the things that they cannot afford, but still have it anyway. You’ll be too busy to protest against the government because you are too busy with your job, too busy enjoying the fruit of your future labor, and all the distractions that you need (care of the institution of the state).
What is the “Great Refusal”? How does it break the conditions of one-dimensionality?
The Great Refusal is the introspective reflection of the individual who is able to see alternatives in which one could actually live their lives. By seeing these alternatives, they engage with a great refusal of things.
Ex: using a computer is not limited to windows and mac. You have an alternative, like lenox. You don’t need to buy a brand new car all the time.
A different take on things. Imagining the possibility that you are being oppressed by the government or the private institutions around you.
It breaks the conditions of one-dimensionality by opening the possibility of alternative utopian vision. Having an alternative to that will be breaking the one-dimensionality of a social situation.
What was Marcuse’s preferred medium for the “Great Refusal”?
The medium is art because it doesn’t impose itself and its meaning. Art is ambiguous. It also appeals to sensitivities (thanatos and eros) which evokes action. It effectively provides that alternative vision to take a certain stance on a work of art.
Parasite, we can have various meanings on that. The meaning is not forced unto the interlocutor, it figures it out on its own reflection.
